


The Broken World

by samsimpala



Series: The Messenger of God Saga [13]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angels, Angst, Demons, F/M, Family, Fluff, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 43
Words: 92,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27260365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samsimpala/pseuds/samsimpala
Summary: Castiel, Crowley, and Kelly are dead while Mary and Robert are stuck in the Apocalypse World. The Winchesters are navigating how to live with Jack, the Nephilim, and keep him on the right track. Will they be able to get Mary and Robert home safely? And what happens when Michael comes back into the picture? Find out in The Broken World! A revision of Season 13. Sam/OC.
Relationships: Sam Winchester/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Messenger of God Saga [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888270
Kudos: 5





	1. Lost & Found Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hey, guys, welcome to The Broken World! This is the 12th (wow!) installment in The Messenger of God Saga! It involves my OC, Angela Morgan, a hunter from a long line, and her and Sam's daughter, Grace Elizabeth Winchester. This will be a revision of season 13 and will be written from the Winchesters' POV, so some parts may be cut out. I hope you guys enjoy it! If you want, please leave a review to let me know what you think! :)

_North Cove, Washington_

Sam jogged into Jack's nursery, only to find Jack, clearly a young-adult male, his eyes glowing gold.

"Father?" he asked.

The two of them just stared at one another and Jack stood, and Sam instinctively took a step back.

~/~\~

Dean knelt beside Castiel's body and Angela cried softly. Grace hugged her mother and sniffled softly, and Dean stood and looked towards Angela.

"Kiddo," he started softly. "Kiddo, I'll be right back. I'm gonna check on Sammy, okay?"

"Okay." Angela whimpered as she lifted Grace.

"Alright," Dean kissed her temple. "I'll be right back, Angie." He assured before he ran into the house.

~/~\~

"No, no, no. No." Sam shook his head. "I'm not your father, Jack. It is Jack, right?"

"Father," Jack repeated as his eyes continued glowing.

Downstairs, the door opened, and footsteps could be heard coming upstairs.

"Sam? Sammy?" Dean called out.

"I'm in here," Sam replied.

Dean came in, gun drawn behind Sam. He noticed Jack and immediately fired at him.

"No!" Sam shouted.

Jack yelled and waves of light came off of him. It blasted the windows out of the upper floor of the cabin, and the brothers were floating in midair; once Jack stopped yelling, they were thrown against the wall and knocked unconscious.

~/~\~

Dean's eyes shot open and Sam woke up soon after. Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and Angela came into the room, carrying Grace.

"Are you guys okay?" her brows furrowed.

"Wait, was that—

"Lucifer's son." Sam finished.

Dean grabbed his gun and they all headed out of the cabin. "Can he teleport?"

"Huh?" Sam asked, confused.

"The kid," Dean huffed. "Does he have wings?"

"I don't know." Sam shrugged.

~/~\~

"We still have holy oil, right?" Dean asked as he drove.

"For what?" Angela's brows furrowed in confusion.

"'Cause we're gonna have to hit him with everything we got."

"Hold on a second," Sam started. "Can we just talk about what happened back there?"

"Sure. Which part?" Dean questioned. "Let's see. Crowley's dead, Kelly's dead, Cas it…" he paused for a moment. "Mom and Robert are gone, and apparently, the Devil's kid hit puberty in thirty seconds flat. Oh, and almost _killed_ you and me."

"Yeah, because you tried to _shoot_ him." Sam reminded.

"I tried to shoot the monster, Sam. It's kind of what we do."

Sam sighed deeply. "We don't know what he is yet, Dean. And I had it under control."

"I'm sorry," Dean scoffed in disbelief. "Are you _defending_ the son of Satan?"

"I'm not defending anything. I'm just saying, look, with everything that's happened, I'm obviously spun out also, but we need a plan."

"Yeah, kill him!" Dean snapped. "Okay? That's the plan. Look, right now all that matters is finding him, and ending him, before he hurts anybody else. And once we do that we'll figure everything else out."

"Daddy, is Unca Cas really gone?" Grace asked from the back seat.

Sam swallowed nervously, unsure of how to break the news that Castiel was really dead. He looked at Dean, almost questioning it.

"You know he is," Dean whispered.

Sam sighed heavily and turned in his seat to look at his daughter. "I'm sorry, Peanut. Your Uncle Cas got hurt really bad, a-and… yes, Peanut, he's gone."

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up to Pirate Pete's, a fast-food restaurant.

"Well," Dean started. "You really think that Lucifer Junior is at Pirate Pete's Jolly Treats? That he was like was, 'before I destroy the world, let me just grab a bag of curly fries?'"

"Look, if he would've kept to the main road, he would have walked past it." Sam shrugged. "And I don't know—

"Fine, just make it quick," Dean grumbled.

"You're not coming?" Angela asked with a frown.

"No." Dean shook his head. "Look, maybe Sammy's right. Maybe the Devil's kid is in there just hanging out. Or maybe he's halfway across the country, torching Chicago. I'm gonna call Jody, check-in, see if she can't help us put a nationwide APB out on the creepy satanic nudist."

"Good." Sam nodded.

"Good is _not_ the word I would use," Dean muttered.

~/~\~

An obviously drunk woman stood at the counter of Pirate Pete's and the teenager working clearly looked annoyed with her.

"Friiiies." She slurred.

"Lady, seriously. We don't have fries." The employee replied in irritation. "It's breakfast only until eleven. But like I've said three times already, hash browns are basically the same."

"Booo! Fries." The woman repeated as Sam and Angela entered.

The teenager rolled his eyes and looked at Sam and Angela. "Welcome to Pirate Pete's Jolly Treats. Argh! How can I help you?"

"They want fries." The drunk woman muttered. "We _all_ want fries."

"Shut up!" the teenager snapped at her.

~/~\~

Dean hung up the phone and sighed heavily. "Gracie, I'm gonna step outside for a minute, okay?"

"'Kay, Unca Dean." She nodded.

Dean got out of the Impala and ran a hand over his face.

~/~\~

"Ignore her," the teenager told Sam and Angela. "She's drunk off her ass."

"Little bit." The woman admitted.

"Right." Sam pursed his lips. "Uh, okay, we're looking for a guy. Uh, he—he's about your height. Uh… naked."

The drunk woman smirked and chuckled. "You and me both, sister."

"What did I say?" the teenager glared at her.

"Sorry." She shrugged.

"And yeah, I saw him." The teenager told Sam and Angela.

~/~\~

Sam waited as his phone rang and he put it on speaker.

 _"North Cove Sheriff's Department. Barker speaking."_ The sheriff's voice rang through.

"This is Agent Berry," Sam started. "I'm with the FBI. Uh, I'm—I'm calling because, uh, did you happen to pick up a—a kid earlier today, uh, not exactly dressed. Um, he…" Sam trailed off as he looked at Clark's menu update, which had 'butt' in the name of the menu items.

 _"Uh, yeah."_ Sheriff Barker answered. _"He's here at the station."_

"He is?" Sam asked in surprise. "Great, great, that's great. Uh, okay, hold on to him. Don't release him until I get there, all right?"

 _"Holy…"_ Sheriff Barker trailed off.

"Sheriff? Something wrong?" Sam asked in concern.

_"Uh… that's something we should talk about in person."_

~/~\~

Dean was walking back to the Impala with his keys in hand. The knuckles of his right hand were bleeding.

"Whoa," the drunk woman commented. "What happened to your hand?"

"Nothin'," Dean grumbled, not wanting to deal with her.

"Doesn't look like nothing," the woman continued. "You punch a wall or something? I punched a wall once. Well, a poster on a wall, but same diff, right? Freshman year, I had this roommate, Becky. She had this _giant_ poster of Elsa. You know, from 'Frozen'? And I mean, first, who brings something like that to college? A cartoon? Really? Like, 'hello homeschool,' right?"

As the drunk woman spoke, she was writing something in the dust of the Impala's passenger side window, and Dean removed a bottle of whiskey from the trunk. He took a swing before he poured some over his bloody knuckles.

"You done?" Dean asked in annoyance.

"Anyway," the woman ignored Dean. "Becky was—and I say this in the most feminist, screw the patriarchy way—a giant super-bitch. She'd take things, and break things, and piss people off, and just do whatever she wanted, no matter who it hurt. It's like the whole world was just Becky to her, you know?"

"Mmm." Dean hummed, not one-hundred-percent listening. "So, you punched her poster."

"And lit most of her stuff on fire." She added, earning a look from Dean. "I got issues."

"Hey, s…" Angela trailed off when she noticed the drunk woman. "Dean, what did you do to your hand?"

"Don't ask," the drunk woman warned. "He's super sensitive."

"You guys got anything?" Dean asked the couple.

"Yeah, w-we know where he is." Sam nodded.

"Good. Great. Let's go." Dean replied as they piled into the Impala.

~/~\~

Jack stumbled down the hallway of the sheriff's department and lightbulbs exploded overhead. He made it to the main room before he fell to his knees. In front of him, he saw a very distorted-looking Dean.

"Hey," Dean stepped towards Jack.

Jack's eyes began to glow again, and he started to struggle to his feet. Suddenly, Jack fell forward and Sam and Angela stood behind him. Sam had a taser in hand while Angela held Grace.

"Nice shot." Dean complimented.

The three of them moved towards Jack cautiously. The sheriff came in as they were distracted, her gun was drawn and pointed at them.

"Don't… what the hell is going on here?" Sheriff Barker asked.


	2. Lost & Found Part 2

The sheriff locked Sam, Angela, Grace, and Jack in a holding cell before she handcuffed Dean and sat him down in her office for a talk. She was laying out the hunters' weapons on her desk.

"I'm sorry," she started. "Say that again?"

"My name is Dean Winchester," he introduced. "That big fella in there is my brother Sam, and the woman with him is his wife Angela. We kill monsters."

"Monsters?" Sheriff Barker asked skeptically.

"Mm."

"Like…"

"Have you ever seen a horror movie?" Dean asked.

Sheriff Barker paused for a moment before she nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"Like that," Dean replied.

"So, what are you?" Sheriff Barker asked after another long pause. "Some kind of superhero?"

"I'm just a guy doing a job." Dean shrugged. "So, that kid you got in there, he's, uh…"

"Not… human?" Sheriff Barker asked.

"Not exactly."

"So, um… what is he?" Sheriff Barker asked curiously.

"So… Jack is a Nephilim. He's half-human and half-angel." Dean explained. "Angels are real, too."

Sheriff Barker exhaled deeply and chuckled in disbelief. "Right."

~/~\~

In the holding cell, Jack sat up, grunting slightly. He moved quickly away from Sam and Angela, getting as far as possible before turning glowing eyes on the couple as he crouched defensively.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Angela started gently. "Easy, easy, easy, easy. It's okay. You're okay. We're not gonna hurt you, hon."

"He already hurt me," Jack eyed Sam suspiciously.

"Yes, I did," Sam admitted. "I-I'm sorry. I was just trying to slow you down. You—you were, uh… Are you all right?"

"I don't, I… I was scared, and when I get scared, things happen," Jack explained as the glow faded from his eyes. "I… I can't stop them."

"Why were you scared?" Angela asked softly.

"Because of the voices," Jack whispered. "They were so… loud, so… angry."

"Do you hear them right now?" Sam questioned.

"No."

"Good." Sam chuckled. "Good." He repeated, exhaling sharply.

Jack sat on the cot opposite the couple and folded his legs up criss-cross-applesauce style. "I'm sorry."

Sam's brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Will you tell them that I'm sorry?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Sure. Of course, hon." Angela nodded. "Um, Jack, how are you… how are we talking right now? I mean, you're—you're not even a day old. How do you speak English?"

"My mother taught me," Jack answered.

"So, you talked to her," Sam replied.

"I _was_ her."

"Okay." Angela nodded. "And, um… your powers. Did she teach you those, too, or…"

Jack stood up and walked to the nearest wall, feeling the concrete blocks with his hands. "No. I… I don't know why these things happen. It's like I'm me, but… not me."

"Jack, look, um… before you were born, you—you opened up a door to another world." Sam reminded. "Do you remember that?"

Jack inhaled deeply, still studying the wall. "Yes."

"Okay, um, could you do that again?" Sam asked.

"I don't… I… I have to find my father. He'll protect me."

Sam swallowed nervously at the thought of Lucifer. "Jack, you gotta listen to me. That's not really what Lucifer does."

Jack's brows furrowed slightly. "Lucifer? No, that's not his name. My father is Castiel."

"Unca Cas?" Grace perked up slightly.

"What?" Sam and Angela asked in shock simultaneously.

"My mother, she said Castiel, he would keep me safe," Jack replied. "She said the world was a dangerous place. That's—that's why I couldn't be a baby or a child. I… That's why I had to grow up fast. That's why I chose him to be my father. Where is he?"

Angela sighed sadly, her heart breaking slightly. "He's dead."

~/~\~

Dean came back to the holding cell."All right, we're good to go."

"Really?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Yeah, the sheriff—I gave her the talk. She's gonna need a minute, but she's cool." Dean explained as they all glanced over at Jack. "So… Let's grab Damien here and find someplace quiet…" Dean clicked his tongue and gave the couple a thumbs up.

"No, no, no, Dean." Sam shook his head. "Jack is not evil. He—he—he's just a kid."

"Are you… He's _Lucifer's_ son." Dean reminded.

"We need him," Angela stressed.

"What?"

"Like—

Sam was cut off by a scream erupting from another room. "Help!"

Dean exchanged a glance with the couple and Jack, and then without a word, he left the holding room to go investigate. Sheriff Barker joined him as they entered the main squad room, to find the drunk woman holding Clark at the point of an angel blade.

"Hey, Dean." Miriam sneered.

~/~\~

Sheriff Barker drew her gun and aimed it at Miriam. "Oh, no, you—

"No, no, no! No." Dean held a hand to stop her. "That won't do jack against her."

"He's not wrong." Miriam shrugged.

"Let him go," Dean demanded.

"Okay. If _she_ shoots _you._ " Miriam replied. "I don't know what he's told you. I mean, I can guess. Some line about how he and his rag-tag family… save the world." She mocked. "Grr. So macho. But really, he's not a hero. He's Becky."

"Becky?" Dean scoffed. "The roommate Becky?"

"You take things and break things and piss people off, and just do whatever you want," Miriam replied. "No matter who it hurts. Also, you're a giant super bitch."

"Well, it takes one to know one." Dean sassed.

"So, yeah, you're Becky, and Becky needs to die," Miriam said before looking at the sheriff. "You're on, Barney Fife."

~/~\~

"Dean?" Sam called out from the cell.

Metal clanked in the distance and glass shattered. Metal creaked as the door to the room was ripped from its hinges and a bright light shone through.

"Dean?" Angela called out more urgently.

Two angels walked in and their eyes glowed a bright blue. Jack reacted as if he had instantly gotten the world's worst migraine.

"Jack?" Angela asked concernedly.

~/~\~

"Too late." Miriam sneered before she stabbed Clark in the side with her angel blade.

"No!" Sheriff Barker cried out.

Dean charged at Miriam and shoved her against the wall violently.

~/~\~

One of the angels ripped the cell door off and threw it aside easily while Jack groaned in pain. As the angel stepped into the holding cell, Sam punched her square in the face.

~/~\~

Dean punched Miriam multiple times in the face as Sheriff Barker ran to her son and dragged him out of the way.

"Clark," she muttered concernedly.

~/~\~

The angel slammed him against the cell bars and began choking him. He headbutted her and she flung him across the room to land on the floor.

"Sammy," Angela set Grace down and went to check on her husband.

~/~\~

Miriam fought against Dean, and eventually grabbed the upper hand and snatched the angel blade from him. She punched Dean in the face before kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying across the room.

~/~\~

Conrad threw Angela out of the way and kicked Sam when he tried to stand up, punching him back to the ground, kicking him a few more times while the other angel went to Jack, who was still huddled on his cot in pain.

~/~\~

Sheriff Barker was tending to Clark's wound while she called Earl for backup. "Earl?"

 _"Yes, Sheriff."_ His voice came from the radio.

"It's Barker. I need an ambulance at the station now."

 _"Copy that,"_ Earl replied.

Dean got up from where Miriam had thrown him across Barker's desk. He kicked a chair at her, then threw a stack of papers at her before picking up a coat rack and jabbing her with it. She grabbed it, snapped it in half, and Dean tossed the pieces at her and ran. Sheriff Barker found a first aid kit beneath the desk and opened the bandages.

"We're just gonna put a little pressure on the wound," she told her son. "Lift it up. Put pressure."

"Aah!" Clark groaned in pain.

Meanwhile, Dean grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall and used it as a shield. He hit Miriam over the head with it and grabbed her blade. He put her in a headlock and held the blade to her throat as she struggled against him.

~/~\~

Conrad continued to kick Sam, who was huddled on the floor, spitting blood. Conrad turned to the other angel to help with Jack, who was clearly in distress. They began leading him out of the cell, but Sam stopped them.

"Hey!" he shouted.

The angels turned back in time to see that Sam had drawn a banishing sigil in his own blood. He slammed his hand onto the sigil and the angels disappeared. Jack appeared to be affected painfully, glowing lines appearing on his neck, and he collapsed to the ground before recovering quickly. Sam rushed to his aid while Angela checked on Grace.

"Jack!" Sam exclaimed.

"Gracie, you okay? Are you hurt?" Angela frowned.

"I'm okay Mommy," Grace replied. "Is Jack?"

~/~\~

"Why are you here?" Dean demanded.

"We want the Golden Ticket." Miriam ground out. "Lucifer 2: Electric Boogaloo."

"Why?"

"Because Bieber in there? He can do almost anything." Miriam revealed.

"Anything?" Dean asked, a twinge of hope in his voice.

Miriam chuckled. "Oh, sweetie. _Almost_ anything. Castiel, he's dead. All the way dead, because of you."

Miriam took her chance and headbutted Dean, giving him a split lip. She broke free from his hold and wrestled back her blade before rushing off toward the holding cells. Dean got his wits about him and realized where Miriam was headed.

"Sam. Angie." He mumbled.

~/~\~

Miriam sauntered up to Sam, who grabbed a nearby angel blade and put himself between her and Jack.

"Don't," he warned.

"Or what, other one?" Miriam sneered.

"Guess," Dean replied as he entered from behind Miriam.

"Stay away from the kid," Sam told her firmly.

"You're right." She held out her blade. "But if we can't have him," she turned her blade and stabbed Jack in the chest. "No one can."

Jack dropped to his knees and Angela ran to his side. Meanwhile, Sam stabbed Miriam in the chest, killing her. He went back into the cell and watched as Jack slowly pulled the blade from his chest.

"Jack. Jack. J—

Jack held the bloody blade as the hunters looked on in shock. "I… I'm fine."

~/~\~

Outside of the sheriff's office, an ambulance prepared to take Clark to the hospital. Jack and Grace were sitting quietly on a bench, while Sam, Dean, and Angela leaned on the hood of the Impala.

"You're gonna be okay." Sheriff Barker told Clark as he was loaded into the ambulance. "I'm right here. I'm right here. You're gonna be brave."

The ambulance door closed, and it sped off, leaving the hunters alone again.

"Jack," Grace looked up at the boy. "Can you bring Unca Cas back?"

Jack's brows furrowed slightly. "I don't know. I'm sorry."

Meanwhile, the three hunters looked at Jack as they spoke.

"How's the kid?" Dean questioned.

"He's gonna be alright," Sam answered. "I mean, Angel Radio sets his brain on fire, but other than that…"

"So, apparently, he can take an angel blade to the heart and keep on ticking," Angela muttered.

"Yeah. I guess." Sam nodded before leaning over to look at Dean. "Listen, I-I think we should take him back to the bunker with us. I know what you're gonna say—

"I agree." Dean interrupted.

"W-what?" Sam asked in shock.

"I agree," Dean repeated.

"So, you… changed your mind?" Angela quirked a brow.

"No." Dean shook his head. "No, nothin's changed. He's still the Devil's kid. He's still evil. He still brainwashed Kelly and Cas. And even if he hasn't gone Big Bad yet, he will."

"You don't know that," Sam argued.

"Yeah, I do. 'Cause when have things ever gone right for us?" Dean scoffed. "So, until I figure out a way to end him, we'll bring him home."

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up to the cabin, and the three hunters got out and went to the trunk to get the materials for a funeral pyre, while Jack and Grace got out.

"Hey… Hey, you, uh, you sure about this, Dean?" Angela whispered. "I mean, it's—it's Cas, you know? Maybe we can bring him back, like you said."

"No, we can't, kiddo." Dean shook his head.

"Chuck did—Uh, God did." Sam reminded. "Remember that? So, maybe, um, I don't know, maybe if we prayed to him or—or…"

"You don't think I've tried that?" Dean snapped slightly.

~/~\~

_Dean walked behind the Pirate Pete's restaurant, making sure that he was alone and standing by the men's room door._

_"Okay, Chuck…" Dean started praying. "Or God, or whatever. I need your help. See, you—you left us. You left us. You went off. You said… You said the Earth would be fine because it had me… and it had Sam and Angie, but it's not," his voice cracked. "And we're not. We've lost everything. And now you're gonna bring him back. Okay? You're gonna bring back Cas, you're gonna bring back Robert, you're gonna bring back Mom, you're gonna bring 'em all back. All of 'em. Even Crowley. 'Cause after everything that you've done, you owe us, you son of a bitch. So you get your ass down here and you make this right, right here and right now."_

_Dean waited for an answer and pursed his lips when nothing happened. He hung his head and proceeded to destroy the sign on the men's room, bloodying his knuckles._

_"Please," Dean whispered. "Please help us."_

_Again, he waited, and nothing else happened. Dean exhaled shakily and walked back toward the Impala._

~/~\~

"God's not listening." Dean clenched his jaw. "He doesn't give a damn." He ground out before he slammed the trunk and walked away to begin building the pyre.

~/~\~

Inside the cabin, upstairs in the room where Kelly's body was laid on the bed beneath a sheet, Sam and Angela led Jack in to say goodbye to his mother. Jack touched Kelly's foot through the sheet and looked at her sadly.

~/~\~

Downstairs, Dean and Grace walked into the room where Castiel's body was laid out on a table beneath a sheet.

"Unca Dean, I miss Unca Cas," Grace whispered sadly.

Dean's shoulder slumped slightly as he took in the sight. "Me too, Princess. Me too."

He walked around the table, resigned, and lifted the sheet to see Castiel's face. He looked away and covered Castiel again before pulling down and tearing up the yellow curtains to bind Castiel's body in the sheet.

~/~\~

Later that night, out at the funeral pyre in the backyard, Dean sloshed gasoline over the pyre where Kelly and Castiel have been placed.

Sam lifted Grace up and looked at Jack. "You wanna say anything?"

"I… What do you say?" Jack asked softly.

"Thank you. You say thank you." Angela answered. "And you say you're sorry. You hope they're somewhere without, uh, sadness or pain. You hope they're somewhere better. You say goodbye."

Dean finished pouring the gasoline and joined everyone, pulling out a lighter from his pocket. "Well, goodbye Cas. Goodbye, Kelly. Goodbye, Crowley. Goodbye, Robert. Goodbye, Mom."

Sam swallowed sadly. "Dean, we don't know if they—

"Yeah, we do." Dean cut him off. "We do, Sam. Lucifer killed them the moment he realized we trapped his ass. He killed them. You know he did. They're gone. They're all gone."

Dean flicked his lighter open and lit it, throwing it at the pyre and watching it burn.


	3. The Rising Son Part 1

_Wyoming_

Jack and Grace were asleep in the Impala as Dean drove down the dark, winding road. Sam glanced at Dean worriedly.

"Hey," he started. "We still got probably 12 hours until we're home. You want me to drive?"

"Do I _ever_ want you to drive?" Dean side-eyed his brother.

"Look…" Sam trailed off. "Losing Mom, Robert, and Cas, that's a lot to process, Dean, especially on no sleep. And the kid—

"The 'kid?'" Dean interrupted incredulously. "Come on, man, you know how this plays out. Look, when we try to bend the rules, pretend that the bad guys aren't so bad or that things will get fixed, that's when people that we care about get hurt. And then we end up doing what we should've done in the first place, which is end the problem. So, this time, let's start with the obvious. Soon as I find a way to take care of…" he glanced back at Jack. "It."

"Dean, 'the problem' might be our only shot at saving Mary and Dad," Angela argued.

"They're gone." Dean clenched his jaw. "There's no fixing that."

~/~\~

Dean, Sam, Angela, and Jack were walking to their motel room. Sam carried Grace, who was still fast asleep.

"This is a bad idea," Dean complained. "We should've just kept driving."

"Dude…" Sam scoffed. "You were hallucinating sheep on the road. We need a few hours."

Dean unlocked the door to their room, and they walked in. Dean flipped the light switch on and Jack looked around.

"This is nice." Jack smiled.

"Let's ward the room, get a bit, get a few hours of sleep, hit the road first thing," Sam suggested as he gently laid Grace on one of the beds before he turned on the TV.

Jack sat on the other bed and stared at the TV, mesmerized. He was watching an old-school episode of 'Scooby-Doo.' "It's… wonderful."

"Hey. No." Dean grabbed the remoted.

"But… Y—

Dean glanced at the TV and chuckled lightly before clearing his throat. "No." he turned off the TV. "And you're on the couch, sport. All right? So, why don't you go over there? Sit down and…" Dean chuckled. "Here." He tossed the Bible to Jack. "Read a book. We're out of here in a few hours."

Jack grabbed the Bible and he started reading through the pages curiously before he landed on 'The Song of Solomon.'

"Jack, hey," Angela whispered. "Sammy and I can take the pull-out couch. Why don't—

"No, no. It's fine." Jack assured before he returned to the Bible.

~/~\~

Jack and Angela were each eating their burgers and Dean just watched Jack. Meanwhile, Sam finished warding the door and sat on the chair in front of them.

"You can slow down, you know. That stuff's not gonna disappear." Dean muttered.

"Ever seen you eat, Dean?" Angela teased.

Dean grabbed a bottle of beer and opened it. Jack watched closely and imitated Dean's actions.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Dean stopped him. "How old do you think you are?"

"3 days, 17 hours, and 42 minutes," Jack answered.

Dean paused for a moment and Sam stifled a chuckle. Dean took a swig of his beer and Jack copied him.

"The book," he looked down at the Bible. "It mentions my father. Not Castiel, but Lucifer."

"Oh, yeah." Dean nodded. "Yeah, he's—he's big in the Bible. Lotta screen time."

"And you… knew him?"

"Well, he's not really an easy guy to know," Sam answered. "He's, um, he's kind of rough around the edges."

"He's Satan," Dean stressed through a mouthful.

"And that's… that's bad," Jack replied.

"Damn straight." Dean nodded. "See… he turned on his father, God."

"God, he's in here, too. Is he famous or something?"

"Yeah," Sam replied. "Um, God basically… created everything."

"Yeah, and then he skipped out, leaving people like us to clean up his messes like Lucifer." Dean scoffed.

"So, God's like my grandfather. He's family, and that's… That's good."

"Sometimes," Dean replied as he put a foot on the table, Jack doing the same. "Okay, all right, will you stop?" he huffed in annoyance.

"So, Jack," Angela started. "We know Kelly taught you things before you were born. And obviously, you can, you know, make people or things move with your mind. But, um… what else can you do?"

"I… don't know." Jack shrugged.

"Okay. For instance, say you wanted to—to be someplace else right now. Could you?" Sam asked, earning a confused look from Jack.

"Can you teleport?" Dean clarified.

"Teleport," Jack repeated.

"Yes. If you wanted to be on the other side of that door right this instant," Dean nodded to the motel door. "What would you do?"

Jack stood up and walked out of the door, closing it behind him.

Dean's brows furrowed. "What… Great."

Jack knocked on the door and Sam chuckled lightly as he stood up.

"You know, it's possible he's more human than we thought."

"Mm-hmm." Dean hummed, unconvinced, as Sam opened the door.

Jack walked into the room with a smile. "Like that."

"Come on." Dean rolled his eyes. "You're trying to tell me you didn't pick up anything before you were born? That your father never reached out to you?"

Jack's brows creased as he remembered scattered and confused visions of Lucifer.

"What?" Dean demanded.

"Jack?" Angela asked gently. "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah. Uh, good. I'm good." Jack nodded.

~/~\~

"All right, I say we, uh…" Sam clapped his hand together and sighed. "Get some rest. It's been a long day. We're startin' early tomorrow."

Right outside of their room, the floorboards creaked as someone approached. Sam grabbed a gun and Dean opened the door. He grabbed the man and threw his aside.

"Donatello?" Sam frowned in confusion.

"Sam? Dean? Angela?" he gasped out. "Is God with you?"

~/~\~

Donatello sat on the couch and took off his hat, fanning himself with it.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"Ah, pretty much. No soul, of course, thanks to Amara." Donatello answered. "It's kinda like losing your appendix. You never really noticed it when you had it. But now, when I come to a moral crossroad, I ask myself, 'What would Mr. Rogers do?' And as soon as I nail that, I'm usually good."

"Why are you here?" Angela asked.

"Yes. That is the question we all must ask." Donatello muttered.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Why are you in Wyoming?"

"Oh! Uh, well…" he cleared his throat. "After God left, I said to myself, 'Donatello, you are so retired.' I mean, who needs a prophet of God when there is no God? So… a few days ago, I'm online, checking out condos in Boca, and I am knocked off my feet by this weird wave of power. Not exactly like God's. More like… something new, something fresh. I was drawn to it. It's here. Wow. Right here. It's…" he looked up at Jack. "You. Who are you?"

"I'm… Jack." He introduced.

"Jack is a Nephilim," Angela added.

Donatello gasped. "A child of a human and an angel."

"Archangel, actually." Sam corrected. "Um… Lucifer."

"Lucifer?" Donatello asked.

"And Donatello here is a prophet," Sam told Jack.

"Which means he has a direct line to God, or Heaven," Dean added.

"Yes, well, not so much anymore." Donatello stood up. "But, uh… Look at you. The waves of power… so intense."

Dean glanced at Sam. "Maybe less human than we thought."

"Fascinating." Donatello murmured. "You know, I've met your father. Your power's nothing like his. Not dark, not toxic."

"That so?" Sam asked.

"Not yet," Dean grumbled.

"If Jack is sending out a signal strong enough to get Donatello all the way out here…" Angela trailed off. "The angels are still out there. I mean, who knows what else might be listening? He needs protection."

~/~\~

Sam was showing the tattoo artist the design for an anti-possession symbol tattoo. "All right, so, uh… I'm thinking something like this, right about here." He put the tattoo design on Jack's chest. "Uh, you know what? Exactly like that."

"And you're cool with this?" the tattoo artist asked Jack.

"Y—Yeah." He stammered slightly.

"Turn the damn thing on and start buzzin'," Dean demanded.

"W—we're family," Sam started. "It's kind of like a family crest." He showed the tattoo artist his own anti-possession tattoo.

~/~\~

"So, you heard Donatello. No evil vibes from Jack." Sam whispered.

"Proves nothing," Dean muttered. "Except that you and Angie are way too attached to this kid. You need to see this for what it is, okay? I mean, what do you need, a sign?" he asked as the tattoo artist prepared to do his work.

"Dean," Angela sighed. "Whatever his powers are or will be… if we train him properly, they could be used for good."

As soon as the tattoo artist started working on Jack, his machine malfunctioned, and he was violently thrown back against the wall.

"Aah!"

"Well, there's your sign," Dean muttered before he walked over to Jack. "Did you do that?"

"I'm not sure," Jack answered.

Sam and Angela went to check on the tattoo artist.

"Hey. You all right?" Angela asked concernedly.

"It hurt," Jack told Dean.

"Okay, see, sometimes, things hurt, so you just man up and deal with it." Dean retorted.

"Yes. I understand." Jack nodded. "Pain is a part of the complete human experience. Accepting it is a sign of maturity."

"All right." Dean deadpanned before he looked at the tattoo artist. "I think your, uh, machine might've fritzed out there. You might wanna get that looked at."

"Uh…" the tattoo artist mumbled.

"Yeah." Dean nodded.

~/~\~

"Okie Dokie." The tattoo artist said as he finished his work.

"Looks good, Jack." Sam complimented.

Jack stared down at the anti-possession tattoo and warding sigil that was now on his chest. Both of the tattoos slowly disappeared.

"Well, there's your second sign," Dean muttered.

~/~\~

Jack was sitting on the couch while Dean, Angela, Sam, and Donatello were in a corner.

"It was a reflex." Sam defended. "He didn't do it on purpose."

"Who cares if he didn't do it on purpose?" Dean argued. "He did it. I mean, you didn't see Cas smiting someone every time he got his teeth cleaned."

"I'm right here, you know," Jack complained.

"Yeah, and what about the vanishing tattoo?" Dean questioned.

"An archangel healing itself." Donatello rationalized.

"Another reflex." Angela shrugged.

"Or maybe he didn't want to be warded."

"Okay, look, yeah, Jack is on Lucifer's family tree. But we don't know if that DNA is stronger than Kelly's, or his connection with Cas." Sam explained.

"Oh, you mean the connection that got Cas killed?" Dean glared.

"I'm just saying, Jack doesn't have to be evil." Sam sighed. "We can teach him not to be."

"Ah. The nature versus nurture conundrum." Donatello patted Sam and Dean's shoulders.

"Hey. Unh-unh." Dean shook his head.

"Dude," Sam warned.

"Oh." Donatello dropped his hands. "Speaking not as a prophet but as a scientist, I don't think teaching him is in the cards. It's like asking a lion not to be a lion."

"But this is not a lion! This is a human!" Sam snapped angrily.

"With a strong dose of God juice." Donatello reminded.

"Okay, that's it. I'm done, all right? 'Cause he's not God, he's not Cas, he's not Simba. He's the friggin' Devil!" Dean shouted and turned to address Jack.

However, when they all looked over, Jack was gone.

"Jack?" Angela called out.

"Uh oh," Donatello muttered.

~/~\~

"Jack?" Angela walked down the alleyway when she found him. "Hey, hon. We've been looking for you."

"I'm sorry." Jack apologized. "I… everyone was so angry."

"Yeah," Angela nodded in understanding. "And, um… I suppose you wanted to be away from it."

"And suddenly, I was." Jack's voice wavered.

"I'll tell you what. You got some special skills, Jack. That's for sure." Angela replied as she sat next to the boy. "We just need to make sure we get a grip on them, so… so you don't hurt anybody."

Jack looked up at Angela sadly. "Is that why Dean hates me?"

"Honey, Dean doesn't hate you," she assured. "It… Look, sometimes the wires in Dean's head get crossed and—and he gets frustrated, and then he mixes frustration with anger, and—and fear."

"Why would he be afraid?"

"Because Dean feels like it's his job to protect everyone," Angela answered. "And right now, we need to protect you. But we may also need to protect people from you."

"Maybe I'm not worth all this," Jack whispered sadly.

"Your mom thought you were," Angela replied. "So did Cas. So do I, and so does Sam."

~/~\~

Dean was sitting at the counter of the Black Spur, checking his phone.

"Getcha another?" the blonde bartender asked.

"Yeah. Sure." Dean nodded.

"What the hell? You're not drivin', right?" she chuckled and Dean looked up from his phone. "I've just—I've seen you around the hotel. Passin' through with… what, your buddies?"

"Uh, that's my brother, my sister-in-law, my niece, and some messed up kid."

"Oh, the kid's messed up?" she asked.

"Yeah, issues with his dad," Dean answered.

"The older fella."

"No, that's, uh, Donatello. Uh, he's a… guy we work with."

"I hated my old man. I ran away myself. See, my mom would never stick up for me. But…" she sighed deeply. "You know kids. No matter what, they still want the old man's approval. Well, that's how it was with me, just…"

"You know, that's, uh, that's how it was with me, too."

"I'm talkin' your ear off," she chuckled. "I'll—I'll grab you that drink."

"You know what? I'm good. Uh, I'm gonna take a walk." Dean downed his drink and stood up. He fished out some money and left it on the counter. "There you go. Thank you."

"Thanks." The bartender smiled.

As Dean left, the bartender morphed into Asmodeus and he snatched a drink from the tray.


	4. The Rising Son Part 2

Sam, Angela, and Grace were sitting at the table in their motel room that morning. Sam was looking at his iPad while Angela cut up fruit for Grace. Suddenly, someone knocked on their door.

"Come in," Sam called out and Donatello walked in. "Hey. Hi."

"Good morning!" Donatello greeted as he sat down.

"How's Jack?" Angela asked curiously. "Uh, by the way, sorry to stick him with you. Things got a little tense here last night, so Sammy and I figured it'd be better to have him stay in your room."

"It's not a big deal," Donatello assured. "He's an interesting kid."

"Yeah." Sam nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's an understatement."

"I like Jack," Grace commented as she ate a forkful of banana slices.

"Let—let me ask ya… Do you have any idea how powerful he'll get to be?" Donatello inquired.

"W—we don't. No." Sam replied. "But the, uh, the lore says, quote, 'A Nephilim becomes more powerful than the angel who sired it.' In this case, the sire is an archangel. So…"

"Does he know about his father?" Donatello questioned.

"Vaguely," Angela answered.

"So, he's not bonded to Lucifer."

"He seems to have a real attachment to his mom, but only kinda a fuzzy idea about his dad," Sam replied. "And his mom, Kelly, was a really good person, so that makes me and Angie think Jack can be molded the right way."

"Mm, molded," Donatello repeated as he stood up. "I hope you're right."

"Yeah." Sam agreed as Donatello left.

~/~\~

Dean walked into the motel room with breakfast.

"Hey. Hey," Sam greeted.

"We should probably hit it," Dean replied as he sat down.

"Uh, we were just gonna call you, actually. Um, look… we are gonna be on the road a long time today." Sam mentioned. "Right?"

"Yeah. Well, you know, we don't have to be 'cause your new pal could just zap us back to the bunker, like that." Dean sassed.

"Point is…" Sam sighed. "If we're gonna do this, keep Jack on the right side of things, then—then we have to be on the same page."

"Okay." Dean pursed his lips. "Well, that's the problem, though, 'cause we're _not_ on the same page. Like, at all."

"All right. You know what? I know what's going on here." Sam commented.

"Oh. Okay." Dean rolled his eyes. "Well, please, tell me, what's going on here?"

"You thinking Mom and Robert are gone, that Cas is gone, and that Jack can't be saved." Sam sighed. "Dean, after everything we've gone through… We just lost people we love, people who have been in our lives for a long time. Everything's upside-down. Angie and I get it."

"But we've been down this road before. Like, rock bottom." Angela added. "And we find a way. We fix it because that's what we do. And Jack wants to do the right thing. Jack's scared to death of who he is, and he's scared of you."

Dean was about to respond when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Angela called out.

"Morning guys," Donatello greeted as he walked in with a plastic bag. "Uh, got a minute? I, uh, wanna talk to you about Jack."

Sam's brows furrowed in confusion. "We _just_ talked about Jack."

"What?" Donatello frowned.

"You were just here." Angela reminded.

Donatello chuckled. "No, I wasn't. I was grabbing breakfast burritos. Extra spicy."

Dean, Sam, and Angela looked at each other. Sam picked up Grace and they all walked down the hallway to Jack's room.

"Jack?!" Dean yelled as they got to his room.

"He's gone." Sam looked around.

~/~\~

"Okay. Okay. So, so, so, so…" Sam started frantically. "Who's got Jack? And who were we talking to? A—a shifter?"

"What would a shifter want with Jack?" Dean scoffed.

Donatello suddenly dropped his bag and started leaving.

"Where you going, cowboy?" Dean questioned.

"He—he went this way." Donatello pointed.

"You sure?" Angela asked.

"I can feel it."

"I'll get the gear," Dean replied as he went back to their room.

When Dean got to their room, he was suddenly attacked by a slightly larger male demon. The demon shocked Dean up against the wall when Angela stabbed the demon in the back with an angel blade.

Dean looked up at her and Sam. "First angels, now demons. Terrific."

"I guess the word's out," Sam added.

"Donatello." Angela realized.

They all ran out just to see Donatello being thrown against the wall by another demon. Dean threw his angel blade directly at the demon's neck and killed him.

"Well, housekeeping is not gonna like this," Dean muttered.

~/~\~

The Impala sped down the road as Donatello gave them directions to find Jack.

"Uh, turn!" he exclaimed. "This is worrisome. I'm sensing a power emanation alongside Jack's. It gets stronger the closer we get to it." He added as they passed a sign. "Jasper, Wyoming?"

"Maybe it's an angel," Angela suggested.

"No." Donatello shook his head. "Something dark."

"Do you ever have any good news?" Dean muttered. "All right, well, see if there's anything in Jasper that's demon-y."

"Yeah, there is," Sam replied. "According to Dad's journal, Jasper is home to its very own Gate to Hell. It gets better."

"Fantastic," Dean muttered sarcastically.

"According to the legend, this particular gate leads to, quote, 'A place where unimaginable evil emanates from creatures too wicked for the Pit to hold.'"

"What the hell does that mean?" Angela frowned deeply.

"They're really bad," Donatello replied before clapping Dean on the shoulder. "Ah! Turn!"

~/~\~

The Impala arrived at the field as the Shedim began to rise from Hell. The hunters and Donatello got out while Grace stayed in the car.

"Jack!" Sam called out as they got out. "Hey! Stop."

"Don't listen to them, Jack!" Asmodeus, still disguised as Donatello, exclaimed.

"Holy crap," Dean muttered.

"Focus!" Asmodeus yelled as the ground crumbled.

"That's not Donatello!" Donatello yelled.

"No, that's not Donatello!" Asmodeus pointed.

"Ah, screw this." Dean took out his fun and shot Asmodeus, who morphed back into his actual form.

"Jack, he's a demon!" Angela warned.

"Howdy, y'all," Asmodeus smirked as he waved his hand, causing the hunters and Donatello to start choking.

"No!" Jack cried out as his attention became directed at his friends.

The Shedim began to crawl back into the Earth and the ground seemed to repair itself.

"Jack… They want to stop you. Contain you. I can give you the world." Asmodeus offered.

"You're hurting my friends!" Jack yelled angrily.

His eyes glowed a bright golden color and the Earth started shaking. Asmodeus vanished before Jack could hurt him, and the gold faded from Jack's eyes. Sam, Dean, Angela, and Donatello gasped for air as they stopped choking.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam, Dean, and Angela sat at the table in the kitchen. The brothers were each drinking a beer while Angela drank water.

"These yellow-eyed things just keep on comin', huh?" Sam muttered as he consulted the lore.

"Mm-hmm." Dean hummed. "And hopefully this fourth Prince of Hell is the last Kardashian in the family."

"According to this," Sam started. "If that was Asmodeus, it's the end of the line."

Dean sighed and cleared his throat as he stood up to leave.

"Dean, wait a second," Angela stopped him. "Jack came through for us today. He saved us."

"No." Dean shook his head. "No, whatever that was, that was a reflex. It was a sneeze. Maybe next time he sneezes, he kills us. Goodnight."

Dean walked out of the kitchen and frowned when he heard a clacking sound coming from a distance. He walked down the hallways and followed the noise to Jack's room.

"Ah!" Jack exclaimed in pain.

Dean found Jack trying to stab himself with a blade, but the wounds immediately healed.

"Okay," Dean barged in. "What the hell? Give me that." He took the knife. "You—Don't be an idiot. Look, A, this is not gonna do anything to you, okay? And, B, you…" he looked at Jack's tattered shirt. "What the hell?"

"Exactly." Jack spat. "What the hell am I? I can't control… whatever this is. I will hurt someone."

Dean paused for a moment. "You know, my brother and Angie think you can be saved."

"You don't believe that." Jack murmured.

"No, I don't," Dean answered honestly.

"So… if you're right?"

"If I'm right… and it comes to killing you… I'll be the one to do it." Dean promised.


	5. Patience Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean was sitting on his bed with headphones on, rock blaring through them. Numerous empty beer bottles were set on the floor near the bed and he added another one to the pile. Meanwhile, Jack was in another room in the bunker. He turned to the door as someone knocked on it.

"Who is it?" he called out.

"Hey, it's me. Uh, Sam." He replied as he opened the door slowly with his laptop in hand. "Hey. Just checking in. You haven't come out since we set you up. That's fine," Sam assured. "I mean it's all been… pretty insane, I'm sure. But, um… Anyway, I brought you something. Please, have a seat." He walked into the room and Jack sat on his bed. "Before you were born, your mom left you a message. I know you have a bunch of questions and hopefully, this is the start."

Sam handed over the laptop and a flash drive to Jack, who just stared at it in confusion.

"Right, yeah." Sam chuckled lightly. "Here I'll um… There you go. Just push this button, right here, whenever you're ready." He plugged the flash drive in and moved to leave.

"Thank you," Jack replied sincerely.

Sam waited in the doorway as the video began to play.

 _"Hi, Jack."_ Kelly's voice rang through the laptop's speakers. _"It's, uh… I'm your mom. I guess I should tell you, um, I always wanted to be a mom. I'd play with dolls. I was that kind of girl and daydreamt about my baby."_

Jack watched the video emotionally; Sam received a call and moved away from the doorway where he had been watching Jack.

"Hello," Sam answered.

 _"Sam Winchester?"_ Missouri's voice rang through. _"It's good to hear your voice."_

"Missouri." Sam's brows furrowed. "Wow, it's been uh…"

 _"I know, a long time,"_ she replied. _"Sorry to be a stranger."_

"That's alright, how are you?"

 _"Honestly?"_ she replied. _"I could use some help."_

~/~\~

Sam was sitting at the table in the library, still on the phone, when Dean and Angela walked in.

"Yeah, yeah, no I hear you. Yeah, thank you, Jody. Yeah." Sam hung up, a bemused look on his face.

"What's up?" Dean asked curiously.

"You'll never believe this," Sam started. "I got a call from Missouri Mosely."

"Who's that?" Angela's brows creased in confusion.

"A psychic, who we haven't seen in like… a decade?" Dean replied.

"More." Sam corrected.

"How is she?" Dean questioned.

"Not great," Sam pursed his lips. "She said that she got out of the life for a while but something happened and she needed help with a case, so I put Jody on it."

Dean frowned deeply. "Why would you do that?"

"Because we need to stay here," Sam replied obviously. "We need to help Jack learn how to control his powers. Jody can handle this."

"Yeah, maybe she can. Or maybe she ends up dead because you wanted to skip out on her to babysit the antichrist." Dean argued angrily.

"Dean, we need him." Sam pressed.

"No, we don't."

"Mom—

"Don't," Dean warned. "You…"

"You know what?" Angela interrupted quickly. "Dean, if you want to go work, that's great. Sammy and I will stay here with Gracie and Jack. Okay? Okay."

Dean narrowed his eyes slightly and stormed off, while Sam just looked dismayed. Angela walked over to her husband and massaged his shoulders comfortingly.

~/~\~

_Omaha, Nebraska_

Jody was talking to an agent standing in front of a police car. "I appreciate the favor. Thank you very much." She smiled before she walked toward Missouri. "I talked to him, everything's okay. So the victim, Dede, was a friend of yours?"

"My protégé," Missouri answered. "She was like a daughter to me. The closest of kin I had in my life these days." She added as the Impala pulled up, causing the two women to turn. "I always did love that car." Missouri grinned.

Dean got out of the Impala and walked towards Jody and Missouri.

"Dean Winchester!" Missouri exclaimed.

"Missouri," he greeted. "Jody. I'm not sure which one to hug first. Hey."

Jody smiled and gestured to Missouri, and Dean hugged her tightly.

"Oh honey," Missouri started. "I'm sorry for your losses."

"Ah leave it to a psychic to cut right through the small talk huh?" Dean chuckled.

"Come here," Jody opened her arms.

"Hey." Dean hugged her tightly.

"How're you doing?"

"Dandy," Dean answered unconvincingly.

~/~\~

"What'd the sheriff have to say?" Dean asked as they walked into Dede's shop.

"Victim was found with a hole at the base of her skull and her brain's…" Jody glanced apologetically at Missouri. "Sorry."

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Missouri looked at Dean.

"Wraith?" he responded, earning a nod from the older woman. "No forced entry."

"Excuse me, dears." Missouri walked to the front door and placed her hand over the doorknob.

"Missouri reads objects," Dean told Jody. "It's kinda her thing."

After a few moments, Missouri opened her eyes and walked back to the main room. "He pretended to be a customer, said he needed help. Dede always was a soft touch." She explained as she closed her eyes again. "He is a wraith. But he's picked up a taste for our kind."

Jody's brows shot up. "He feeds on psychics?"

"Yes, he does." Missouri murmured as she ran her hand over the table and brushed a bloodstain on it. Her brows creased slightly and her face contorted in fear. "Oh, oh."

"Missouri, Missouri, you okay?" Dean rested a hand on her shoulder.

"James!" she exclaimed, her eyes flying open.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam, Jack, and Angela were in the bunker's study. Jack and Angela were sat at the table while Sam walked towards Jack with a pencil in hand.

"Train me," Jack started. "To what?"

"We've seen what you can do Jack," Sam replied. "You're powerful, but you have to learn to control it. You know, to focus." He sat down at the table.

"So I don't hurt anyone, anymore," Jack replied.

"Exactly." Sam nodded. "See this pencil? I want you to move it. With your mind." He set the pencil down in front of Jack.

"That's it?"

"That's it, hon." Angela smiled gently. "You can do it."

Jack nodded and looked at the pencil intensely. When nothing happened, he glanced at Sam and Angela, who just nodded encouragingly.

~/~\~

_Omaha, Nebraska_

Missouri returned to the main room and handed Dean a slip of paper. "I want you to go to Buckhead, Georgia. This is the address. My son James, he lives there with my granddaughter, Patience. This wraith, he'll be coming for them. That's what I saw."

"Alright well, let's go," Dean replied.

"No, I'm… It… I just complicate things." Missouri muttered sadly. "James won't have anything to do with me."

"Why not?" Jody inquired.

"He has his reasons. I'll just stay behind, say my farewells to Dede."

"No, I don't like that at all," Dean argued.

"You don't have to like it," Missouri replied firmly. "You just have to do it. You save my family, you hear me, Dean Winchester?"

Dean paused for a moment and nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Good." She nodded. "And thank you."

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Jack had his hand over the pencil on the table and was concentrating hard, trying to move it. Sam and Angela just watched curiously.

"I can't," Jack huffed in frustration. "Nothing. I'm useless."

"Jack, honey, you are _not_ useless," Angela assured.

"Alright. Jack," Sam started. "When you did use your powers, what was it like?"

"I don't…" he trailed off. "It was like, breathing, blinking. It just happens."

"Even with Asmodeus, that just happened?" Sam quirked a brow.

"No," Jack shook his head. "He made me. It was like, like he was in my head."

"Okay um, then, uh… Imagine him doing that." Sam suggested with a shrug.

"No!" Jack snapped.

Sam's brows furrowed. "No? Why not?"

"Because I don't want to!" Jack exclaimed. "It's just… I can't do this! And you guys keep staring at me, waiting!"

"Okay," Angela cut in. "We're gonna take a break. Sammy, why don't you get some air?"

Sam nodded and got up to walk out of the room. Jack looked surprised at the idea of a break.

"How about I make us some food, yeah?" Angela offered Jack. "I'm gettin' kinda hungry."

"Okay. Thank you, Angela." Jack smiled weakly.

"When we get back," Sam said from the doorway. "We'll try again."

~/~\~

At the Gas-n-Sip, Dean set down a six-pack of beer, some chips, and snacks on the billing counter. The news was playing on the nearby TV and Dean indicated to the Impala outside.

"And uh, twenty on the pump." He told the clerk.

"There have been two murders in the last 24 hours," the newscaster started, causing Dean to look up. "Both at the same local business. The latest victim has been identified as Missouri Mosely. She was found dead at the scene. Now, we'll have some more information as soon as we get it but investigators are on the scene."

~/~\~

Dean walked out of the Gas-n-Sip toward the Impala. "And you know what, she knew it. She, I mean we could've protected her."

"Do you want to head back?" Jody asked.

"No." he shook his head. "No, Missouri wanted us to save her family. That's exactly what we're going to do."

~/~\~

_Buckhead, Georgia_

Dean and Jody were outside James' door. Dean knocked and James opened the door, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"James Turner," Dean started. "We need to talk."

"Look, whatever you're selling I'm not interested." He attempted to close the door, but Dean held it open.

"It's about… It's about your mom." Jody explained. "Missouri sent us, she's…"

"She's dead," Dean told him bluntly.

"Dead," James repeated.

"A wraith got her."

"Look, whatever game you're playing here, I talked to my mother yesterday."

"She died last night," Dean informed. "9:00 p.m., according to the coroner's office."

"I… No, I… I hung up on her." James stammered.

"James, I need you to listen to me," Jody started urgently. "Missouri sent us because the thing that killed her, it's still out there. It's coming for you and your daughter."


	6. Patience Part 2

_Buckhead, Georgia_

The wraith slammed Patience against the row of lockers and covered her mouth with his hand, shushing her. "Good girl."

Patience managed to kick him in the groin and punched his face. She dodged his counterattacks and ripped the spike from his wrist. Black blood gushed out and the wraith screamed in pain before he chased after Patience and caught her, knocking them both to the ground. He sat atop her and restrained her hands. He held up the hand with the remains of the spike.

"This hurts like hell," he ground out. "But don't worry, it grows back."

Suddenly, the wraith was hit from behind by a bullet and yelled in pain. He stood up and sprinted down the hall towards the exit. Dean ran after the wraith while Jody hurried to where Patience was lying on the floor and helped her up.

"You okay?" she asked.

The wraith grabbed a mop from a bin at the end of the hallway and used it to barricade the exit door after he left. Dean looked at him through the glass but the wraith ran away before he could shoot. Dean huffed and ran back up the hallway.

"I got it," he told Jody. "Stay with her."

Dean ran down a stairwell and through the locker room. He exited the school and looked around the parking lot. Tires squealed and Dean was held in the lights of a van that was headed straight for him. He immediately dove out of the way and watched as the van sped off.

~/~\~

Dean returned to where Jody and a rattled looking Patience were waiting.

"I lost him," Dean sighed. "Did you get a good look at him?"

"Yeah, uh, he, um, he tried to stab me with that." Patience nodded to the wraith's spike lying on the floor.

Jody picked it up and looked at Patience in surprise and admiration. "Wait, you…? Wow."

"Alright, well that thing might come back, so…"

"Why?" Patience demanded.

"Well, all we know is that he stalks psychics," Jody answered.

Patience's brows furrowed in confusion. "Psychics? Then what does he want with me?"

"What do you think?" Dean retorted.

"I… No, I'm not… I get déjà vu sometimes but that's normal. I'm normal." Patience stressed.

"Your grandmother was psychic, and she sent us to protect you," Jody informed.

"My grandma said she was a psychic but she's a fraud. She doesn't care about me, she ditched me. Me and Dad, right after Mom died."

"Okay, this woman you're describing, that walked out on her family? That's not who Missouri was at all." Dean replied firmly.

Patience frowned deeply. "Why do you keep saying 'was'?"

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam was sitting at a table in the library watching a live camera feed of Jack on his laptop while Angela noshed on an apple.

"You know Sammy," Angela started as Sam opened a book. "You have to be a little more patient."

"Angie, this is the only way—

"I know." She interrupted. "But he's a scared kid. And we forget that because he looks like a teenager."

Sam pursed his lips, knowing that Angela was right. He set down the book and frowned when he saw that Jack had disappeared from the table shown on the feed.

"He's gone," Sam commented.

"What?" Angela stood up. "Jack?" she called out and she and Sam hurried to the room.

"Jack! Jack!" Sam called out.

When they arrived, Jack could be seen sitting on the floor in a dark corner of the room. Sam breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Jack, what're you doing?" he asked.

Jack held up the pencil. "I moved the pencil."

"Okay," Sam started. "Look. I know this isn't exactly fun—

"No, it's the opposite of fun." Jack interrupted.

"Okay, but why is it so hard?" Sam asked in confusion. "We've seen you throw people across the room. I've been thrown across the room by you. We've seen you open a gate to Hell and now nothing? It doesn't make any sense."

"It makes sense," Jack murmured. "If I'm evil."

"What?" Angela frowned.

"Just, go. Please."

"No, Jack." Angela shook her head. "Why do you think you're evil? Because when Sam and I look at you, that's not what we see."

"Yeah well, Dean sees it," Jack snapped. "That's why he says… he said he'd kill me."

"He what?" Angela demanded, anger bubbling up inside of her.

"And maybe he should." Jack continued. "Mom said I could be good, that I had the choice to be good, that it was up to me. But she's dead, because of me. I've only been on Earth for a few days and I've already hurt people. I've already done bad things, and no matter how hard I try I can't… I can't do the one good, stupid thing you want me to do. So, I must be evil, like Lucifer."

"Jack, listen, Asmodeus tricking you, Dean…" Sam trailed off. "None of that is your fault. I think that uh, after everything that's happened you're probably scared to use your power, and us pressuring you certainly isn't helping."

"Really?" Jack looked up at the couple.

"Really." Angela smiled gently. "What do you say we call it? Until we figure out a better way. How does that sound, hon?"

"It sounds… good."

"Good. Come on." Sam offered his hand to Jack and helped him up.

"Why are you guys being so nice to me?" Jack asked curiously.

"Because we know what it feels like, to feel like you don't belong," Angela answered.

"To feel like there's this darkness inside of you," Sam continued. "To be scared of who you are, what you can do. Dean, Cas, Angie, my family helped me through that. So now we want to help you, because you're not evil, Jack."

~/~\~

_Buckhead, Georgia_

Jody and Dean were watching as Patience argued with her father.

"You told me she left us, but they say… Dad? Is it true?" Patience demanded.

"Yes." He nodded.

"You said she was fake!" she shouted.

"She was!" James snapped. "At least, I felt like she was, after. I always believed in her powers, I had total faith in them but… they were wrong."

"What do you mean?" Patience pressed.

"When your mother got sick," James started sadly. "Grandma told me, she said, 'Tess will be alright.' She promised me, but then Tess… She apologized after, she said nothing's ever set in stone, but I, I couldn't forgive her."

"So you cut your mother out of her life?" Dean glared.

"This whole time I could have had a relationship with her." Patience's voice wavered.

"Growing up with her, she was always on the road, hunting! I spent my entire childhood terrified of monsters, of losing her. I didn't want that life for you, I… I didn't want her encouraging—

"Encouraging what?!" Patience snapped.

"Grandma believed… She felt you had the gift." James revealed.

"Oh my God." Patience shook her head in disbelief.

"But you didn't. Baby, you don't. I mean, you're 18! If you had powers, we'd know it by now."

"My dream last night? I saw what happened before it happened. I—

"Your daughter is psychic." Jody walked forward. "That's why the wraith is coming after her."

"So we run," James replied. "We can work all this out later, but right now get your things," he told Patience. "We need to go."

Patience looked at Dean and Jody, unsure of what to do.

"Patience, I said now!" James ordered.

Patience clenched her jaw slightly and turned to leave to her room.

~/~\~

Downstairs, Dean, Jody, and James heard Patience scream and they ran upstairs to her room. There was no sign of either her or the wraith, but her window was open.

~/~\~

Dean was in James' living room looking at footage from a traffic camera on his laptop while James sat opposite him and Jody talked on the phone.

"Okay, thanks," Jody said before she hung up. "You get anything from the traffic cam?"

"Yeah it caught the van in a light a few blocks from here but it's too blurred to get a plate," Dean answered. "What's the sheriff say?"

"Well, they said they'd keep an eye out but…" she shrugged.

James looked at Jody reproachfully before he got up suddenly and retrieved a wooden chest which he placed on the table. He unlocked it with a key and opened it to reveal various paraphernalia, including a picture of Missouri and a roughhewn pouch with gems in it. He closed the box and set a map on the table.

"James?" Jody asked.

"When I was a boy and my mother was out on a hunt, I got so scared. She gave me these, the thematic gems," he explained. "Divination tools. She taught me how to use them so we could always find each other wherever we were."

"You? Doing magic?" Dean raised his brows. "Desperate times."

~/~\~

In the wraith's hideout, a noise could be heard from upstairs. Before the wraith could attack, Dean, Jody, and James entered the room. The wraith darted away before they could see him. Dean indicated to Jody to move to the other side of the house while he took point. James ran to Patience and started to untie her hands.

"Patience, baby."

"Dad?" she breathed out.

"I'm going to get you out of here alright?" he assured.

There was a crashing sound as something broke and James stood up.

"Move!" Patience told her dad, recalling her vision.

James dodged the wraith's attack and got slashed on his shoulder and he fell to the floor. Jody walked in looking at him on the floor and Patience saw the vision of Jody getting stabbed.

"Jody, behind you!" she warned.

Jody slashed at the wraith who was behind her. He slammed her against the wall and attempted to disarm her, but Jody punched him in the face. He retaliated by knocking her out easily and grabbing the discarded knife.

"Dean!" Patience called out as he looked for the wraith.

Quickly, the wraith pinned Dean against the wall and knocked the gun out of his hand. He pushed him and tried to stab him but Dean managed to kick himself free. The wraith threw him into a table with a scythe on it which Dean grabbed. The wraith charged at him again, swinging the knife, and trapped Dean wrestling him to the wall. Dean untangled himself and turned the wraith against the wall, trapping him with the scythe, and stabbed him with the knife that the wraith was still holding. Dean pushed it in deeper until the wraith fell to the ground dead.

Back in the main room, James and Jody were stirring. Patience was still bound to the chair as Jody stood and Dean walked in.

"You okay?" he asked Jody.

"Uh." She grunted.

Dean turned his attention to Patience. "How did you…?"

"Guess I'm psychic." She exhaled.

"Huh."

~/~\~

Jody and Dean were leaning against the Impala outside of James' house the next morning.

"The way you handled that wraith, you still got it." Jody complimented.

"Hmm, guess so." Dean hummed as Patience walked towards them.

"Hey!" Jody greeted chipperly.

"You know, I said it before, but good work in there." Dean smiled.

"Thanks, for everything." Patience replied sincerely.

"Have you given any thought to what's next?" Dean inquired.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "School is in an hour, so I guess calculus?"

"And your gift?" Jody asked.

"I talked to my dad," Patience started. "He thinks I should put it away. Dad says we should just get back to normal. Maybe he's right."

"He is." Dean agreed, surprising Jody. "This life—hunting, monsters—there's no joy in it. There's nothing but pain, horror, and death. So if you get a chance at normal, you take it."

Dean turned to the Impala and Patience moved back to her house.

"Patience, wait." Jody followed after her. "I may be out of line here but you don't have to listen to him. To either of them if it's not what you really want. I had a daughter, I guess, Claire, and I asked her to stay in line, to fight who she really was because I thought it would keep her safe." She explained. "It didn't work, it never does. Your gift… or maybe you're right, maybe it'll go away. But if it doesn't? You try to force it down to make someone else happy, you will only make yourself miserable. It's your choice. But if you ever need someone to talk to or someplace to go, my door is always open."

Jody handed her a card before she walked back to the Impala while Patience just looked after them.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Later that night, Sam and Angela were waiting at the table in the library. The door to the bunker opened and Dean walked down the stairs.

"How was it?" Sam asked. "Uh, Jody told me about Missouri."

"Yeah, just another day at the office." Dean sighed. "How's the kid? He go dark side yet?"

"Nope," Sam answered, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "He is uh, he's pretty messed up though." He turned to face Dean.

"You're telling me," Dean muttered.

"No, Dean," Angela started. "He's messed up _because_ of you. Dean… you said you'd kill him."

"It wasn't exactly like that," Dean argued.

"Then how exactly was it?" Angela demanded.

"I told him the truth," Dean answered bluntly. "See, you and Sammy think you can use this freak but I know how this ends and it ends bad." He continued, not knowing that Jack was just around the corner.

"We didn't," Sam muttered.

"What?"

"Angie and I didn't 'end bad.' When I was the freak, when I was drinking demon blood." Sam stood up angrily.

"Come on man, that's totally different."

"Was it?" Sam asked. "Because you could've put a bullet in me and Angie. Dad _told you_ to put a bullet in me, but you didn't! You saved us! So help us save him!"

"You guys deserved to be saved, he doesn't!" Dean roared.

"Yes he does, Dean, of course, he does!" Angela argued.

"Look, I know you guys think you can use him as some sort of interdimensional can-opener and that's fine," Dean started. "But don't act like you care about him! Because you only care about what he can do for you! So if you want to pretend, that's fine! But me? I can hardly look at the kid! Because when I do all I see is everybody we've lost!"

"Mom chose to take that shot at Lucifer." Sam clenched his jaw. "That is not on Jack!"

"And what about Cas?" Dean demanded.

Sam's brows furrowed. "What about Cas?"

"He manipulated him, he made him promises, said, 'paradise on Earth' and Cas bought it and you know what that got him?" Dean glared. "It got him dead! Now you might be able to forget about that, but I can't!"


	7. The Big Empty Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam and Angela walked into the bunker that morning with breakfast.

"Hey," Angela started. "How're you feeling?"

Dean was working on his laptop at the table. He looked up at the couple, but remained silent.

"What you, uh, working on?" Sam asked as he and Angela walked down the stairs.

"Dead guy in Madison," he answered shortly. "Police say it was a home invasion, but neighbor claims that she saw the vic's dead wife leave the crime scene."

"Let's check it out." Angela shrugged.

"What, you and Sammy ready to ditch Damien?" Dean quirked a brow. "What do you wanna do? Leave him in a ring of holy oil with some Netflix and a frozen pizza?"

"Ha," Sam replied sarcastically. "No. Actually… I thought we'd, uh, bring him along."

"Uh, hell no." Dean scoffed. "What, _'Adventures in Babysitting'_ the Antichrist? No, thank you."

"Dean, we can't hide him forever," Angela argued. "And, you know, just keeping him cooped up here isn't working."

"Yeah, it is, actually. You wanna know why? Because as long as he's here, he's not out there doing God knows what." Dean retorted. "So what, does this mean that your and Sammy's plan for bringing Mom and Robert back isn't working? 'Cause I'll say it again—they're dead. Lucifer ripped out their freakin' hearts. Now, the sooner you two can wrap your head around that, the sooner we can all move on."

"So you're saying you want to move on, from Mom and Robert?" Sam questioned.

"Right now, I wanna kill some dead guy's dead wife," Dean answered.

"Dean, that isn't what this is about. Jack needs to get out." Sam replied. "He needs to get some air. We all do. He's a good kid. He is, just… give him a chance, please. For us."

~/~\~

Angela knocked on Jack's door and Sam stood by her side.

"Jack?" she opened the door. "Hey, hon. Hi, Gracie."

Jack and Grace sat on Jack's bed watching _'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'_ on his computer.

"Hi Mommy, hi Daddy." Grace waved with a smile.

"What're you guys doing?" Angela asked curiously.

"Clone Wars?" Sam asked when he got a look at the computer screen.

"Grace said I'd like it," Jack answered. "I do like Ahsoka. Kinda hate Anakin."

"Uh… that's probably for the best," Sam muttered. "Never mind. Um, hey. You remember when we told you what Dean, Angie, and I do? Out, uh, our day job?"

"You kill monsters because you're the good guys," Jack answered.

"Like superheroes," Grace added.

"Right, right." Sam nodded. "And we've got a case, so… thought you might want to come along."

"No," Jack replied.

Sam's brows furrowed slightly. "Jack, we really think this would be good for you. You know, maybe a change of scenery might—

"Get my powers working again?" Jack interrupted.

"Yeah, maybe." Sam nodded.

Jack paused the video and looked up at the couple with a hurt expression. "So I can be your 'interdimensional can opener'? You're using me."

Sam sighed heavily as he sat down on the edge of Jack's bed. "Jack… when you were born, it ripped a hole in reality. Like a—like a door from this world to another, to a… a really bad, bad place. So—so we, we closed that door. But… our Mom, Mary, and Angie's Dad, Robert… they're trapped on the other side." He explained. "If we can get your powers back, maybe we can open that door up. Maybe…"

"You wanna save them," Jack muttered.

"Yeah," Angela nodded. "Yeah, we do. But… we're not gonna force you to use your powers. If this doesn't work, if that can't happen, that's okay. Sammy and I care about you."

"But we should've told you," Sam added. "We're sorry. It's a lot and, uh…"

Jack looked down at his lap. "Dean can't even look at me. He wants to kill me."

"We won't let that happen," Angela promised.

"Listen, if there's one thing that Dean respects, it's effort," Sam informed. "So come along. Help us out. Let's go be the good guys." He urged, earning a smile from Jack.

~/~\~

_Madison, Wisconsin_

The Impala pulled up outside of the victim's house, which was marked off with yellow caution tape. Jack was looking at the Winchesters' fake FBI badges while Angela shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"You okay, baby?" Sam asked in concern.

"Yeah," she rested a hand on her swollen stomach. "Little man is just kicking up a storm today."

"Agent Bonham, Agent Seger, Special Agent Anderson—these are you?" Jack asked from the back seat.

"Yeah, sometimes." Sam nodded.

"I thought lying was wrong," Jack commented.

"Mommy and Daddy say it is." Grace looked up at Jack.

"All right, here we go," Dean started. "Victim, Wes Bailey. His wife, Erica, died six months ago. Heart thing, out of the blue. Uh, question is, why'd she come back from the dead and knife his ass?"

"People come back?" Jack asked curiously, almost hopefully.

"When a person dies and their soul can't move on—

"They're called ghosts." Dean interrupted Sam. "And hanging around makes them go loony tunes. Uh, they go crazy."

"Yeah, question is, since when do ghosts kill somebody and walk out the front door?" Angela muttered.

"So, maybe it's a revenant," Dean suggested.

"Wait," Jack frowned. "What's a revenant?"

"A revenant's more like a—a zombie," Sam answered.

"Hey, there's our witness." Dean nodded as the Baileys' neighbor watered her plants.

"Jack, we're gonna talk to the witness, check out the crime scene," Angela told him as she, Sam, and Dean got out of the car.

Dean leaned into the car window and eyed Jack. "You stay. Sit."

~/~\~

"Now, you're sure it was his wife?" Sam asked the neighbor.

"I've lived next to Erica for six years," she replied. "I watered her plants every time she and Wes took a vacation."

"What about that night?" Angela questioned. "You notice anything else? Maybe, uh, flickering lights, cold spots?"

"I… I think a street light did flicker," she answered. "M—Maybe."

Dean turned and noticed that Jack was gone. "We got a runner."

"Thank you," Sam told the woman before they headed toward the Baileys' house.

~/~\~

Inside the house, Jack knelt beside a large pool of blood on the carpet.

"Hey!" Dean snapped as he stormed in with Sam and Angela following behind. "I told you to wait in the car. What the hell are you doing?"

Jack stood up, slightly startled. "I'm trying to help out."

"How is this helping out?" Dean demanded.

"Hey, Dean," Angela warned before turning back to the boy. "Thank you, Jack. Did you find anything?"

"Just this." He pointed to the pool of blood.

"Oh." Dean rolled his eyes.

"All right," Sam put out his EMF meter. "Jack, look. This is an EMF meter. Okay, so spirits, ghosts, they put out electromagnetic interference. If one's here, this will tell us." He explained as he turned it on.

"What's it saying?" Jack asked curiously.

"It's saying it's a revenant," Dean grumbled. "We gotta check her grave."

"Come on," Angela smiled softly at Jack.

~/~\~

Later that night, the boys and Angela stood in front of Erica Bailey's grave while Grace slept in the Impala.

"All right, well, you said you wanted to help, so, uh…" Dean threw a shovel at Jack. "Dig."

"Dean, what's up with all the orders?" Sam asked as he, Angela, and Dean walked to the Impala. "You're starting to sound like Dad."

"That a bad thing?" Dean asked as he grabbed a beer from the cooler.

"I'm just saying his—his drill sergeant act worked with you… but it didn't work with me." Sam reminded. "And that's not the way we're gonna get through to Jack."

"Look, you guys wanted the kid here, he's here. All right?" Dean huffed. "But I'm not gonna hold his hand and tuck him in at night. Pass. I'm not gonna be his mother, and neither are you guys. And the kid can dig, so I'll give him that."

When Jack was finished digging, he opened the coffin and the Winchesters walked back over. Dean frowned when he saw Erica's body inside the coffin.

"All right, I guess we're back to ghost."

"Yeah." Angela agreed before turning to Jack. "So, a body rules out revenant."

"All right, I don't get it. I mean, a ghost that won't show up on EMF?" Sam mused. "Doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, well, what does these days?" Dean asked as he prepared to salt and burn the body. "You know, I mean, we—we've got portals to apocalyptic worlds. We've got, uh, shape-shifting demons. Dealing with a new whole set of tiddlywinks. I say we just… do what we do."

"My mother… could she be a ghost?" Jack asked.

"No," Sam shook his head sadly. "We, um… we burned the body."

"That's right, and what gets burned… stays dead." Dean set Erica's body on fire.

~/~\~

The next morning, The Winchesters were at the crime scene while Jack and Grace stayed in the Impala.

"Well? Get anything?" Dean asked once Sam was done talking with the sheriff.

"Yeah, cops found the victim, Gloria Simon, about an hour ago," Sam answered. "Something ripped her apart."

"Our kind of something?" Angela asked.

"No. Gloria was on the phone with roadside assistance when she died," Sam explained. "Operator said she was talking to someone named Scotty."

"And?" Dean asked.

"According to the cops, Scotty is her son. Uh, was her son. He drowned in '96."

Dean checked the EMF meter and frowned. "So we got two ghosts in two days, and… no EMF."

"So?" Sam muttered.

"So, aside from getting dead, what do Gloria and Wes have in common?" Dean mused.

~/~\~

Sam and Angela were leaving the Madison Police Department with some documents. Dean leaned against the Impala and Grace stood next to him eating fruit snacks.

"Where's Jack?" Angela's brows creased.

"Across the street. Food run." Dean nodded to Jack at a hot dog kiosk.

"Dean, he's not our intern. We asked you to keep an eye on him." Sam reprimanded.

"I can see him." Dean shrugged. "He keeps staring at me."

"Yes, he wants you to like him." Angela huffed. "Alright, whatever. Here, take a look." She handed Dean a journal.

"What's this, her diary?"

"It's a grief journal." Sam corrected. "Cops found one at the first crime scene also. Wes and Gloria were both seeing the same grief counselor—Mia Vallens—and apparently, she gives homework."

"Hmm. Shrinks. Snake oil for the mind." Dean muttered.

"Or how healthy people deal." Angela scoffed.

"Yeah? All right, let's see how good old, uh, Gloria was dealing," Dean started. "Here you go. 'And now that I've achieved catharsis, I can truly see the program works.' The program? Come on, I mean, she's one Kool-Aid away from Jonestown. What'd Wes' 'journal' say?"

"More of the same," Sam answered. "Um, he really was into the whole catharsis thing."

"Yeah, sure. Who wouldn't be? I mean, it's like another word for 'happy ending.'" Dean replied as Jack came back with food.

"Hi, Jack." Sam greeted.

"What took you so long?" Dean demanded.

"The man in front of me wanted extra kraut, but the hot dog man didn't have any," Jack answered. "He was really angry."

"Mmm," Dean hummed as he ate. "That's a cool story. So, let's say that Hannibal chick is, um, a medium, right? She's talkin' to spirits, she's pissing them off somehow. A ghost shows up, notches a kill, and takes off."

"Yeah, but then, what? Once it's gone, no EMF?" Angela asked.

"This woman can talk to ghosts?" Jack raised his brows.

"If she's the real deal," Dean took another bite from his hot dog. "Mediums can do all kinds of freaky crap."

"All right, say you're right," Sam started. "Can't go in as FBI, not with doctor/patient confidentiality."

"All right." Dean nodded. "So we have to go in as something else."

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up to Mia's studio and Angela unbuckled Grace.

"This is a dumb idea," Dean complained.

"Just follow my lead," Sam instructed.

"Yeah, a doctor's gonna eat our liver with some fava beans and a bottle of Chianti," Dean muttered as they walked up the porch steps as a man exited the building.

"Hello." The man greeted pleasantly.

Jack stopped and smiled at the man cheerfully. "Hello!"

~/~\~

"Hello?" Sam called out as they entered the studio.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Yeah, we're, uh… hoping to see the doctor." Angela smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the receptionist apologized. "You caught us right at the end of our day. Maybe tomorrow."

"No, today's good. Like, right now." Dean forced a fake smile.

"He—Uh, we just need a moment of her time." Sam stammered.

Mia walked down the steps at that moment. "You've lost someone recently?"

"No," Dean turned around.

"My mother," Jack answered honestly.

"Uh, our mother. And my wife," he gestured to Angela. "Recently lost her dad. We're having a difficult time."

Mia rushed to shake their hands. "Mia Vallens."

"Hi. Dean," he introduced.

"That's our little brother, Jack, this is my wife Angela, our daughter Grace, and I'm Sam." He introduced.

"I see." Mia nodded. "Please, this way."

"Sure." Sam nodded.

Dean put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Listen, Mr. Spock, you speak when I tell you to speak, okay?"

"Yes."

"Good." Dean nodded curtly as they moved to Mia's studio.

"Your mother and Angela's father—they passed suddenly?" Mia asked as everyone sat down.

"Uh, yeah." Sam nodded.

"Mm," Mia hummed. "Most of the people I see are in the same boat. No warning, no goodbye, no closure."

"Right, yeah. Pretty much the same for us." Angela nodded. "Um… So, how does this usually work? You know, with your other patients?"

"Usually, they just start talking about the people they've lost."

"All right, well, Mom and Robert were great, now they're dead. What's the deal with catharsis?" Dean asked.

"I'm sorry?" Mia's brows furrowed.

"Uh, we—we were wondering what that is," Sam stammered. "Um, a patient of yours, Gloria Simon, she referred us. She's a family friend."

"I don't talk about my patients, and Gloria wasn't supposed to talk about me."

"Sure, um… got it." Sam nodded. "But you process—

"My program is a range of things." Mia interrupted. "Talk therapy, meditation. You ever journal?"

"Our dad did." Sam motioned between himself and Dean.

"Dean? You journal?" Mia questioned.

"Ever since I was a little girl." He smiled sarcastically.

Mia pursed her lips. "You think this shrink stuff is a load of crap. Am I right?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Then why are you here?" Mia questioned.

"Because, uh, we all agreed we'd give it a shot, right?" Angela asked, earning a nod from Jack. "Right?" she asked Dean.

"My brother, he's not, uh, he's not processing his grief," Sam added.

"Mm." Mia nodded.

"Really? No, I'm…" Dean chuckled. "No, I'm good, actually. With death, closure, whole freakin' bottle of Jack."

"Are you?" Sam demanded.

"Yeah. Because I know that Mom and Robert are dead, and I know that they're not coming back."

"Okay, I hear what you're saying, I just wish…" Sam started.

"You wish he'd be more open to therapy?" Mia asked.

"Sure. Exactly." Sam nodded.

"All right, this is a safe space, right, Doc?" Dean asked. "Okay. My brother and sister-in-law are delusional."

"Dean." Angela narrowed her eyes.

"You guys said you wanted to give this a shot, right? Here we go." Dean shrugged. "They won't even admit that Mom and Robert are dead. Won't even admit it."

"Stop," Sam warned.

"Because if they admit it," Dean continued. "Then it's real. If it's real, then they have to deal with it, and they can't handle that."

"Right, because this is so easy for you, huh?" Sam challenged.

"No, it's not easy."

"Yeah, but at least you had a relationship with Mom!" Sam snapped. "I mean, who would she always call? Who did she look to for everything?"

"Okay," Dean sighed.

"You had something with her I never had! And now I'm just supposed to accept that I never will have it?!" Sam exclaimed.

Sam stood up and stormed out of the room angrily. Angela gave Dean a warning look and stood up to follow her husband.

"Grace, stay with your uncle," Angela told her daughter before she ran after Sam.

~/~\~

Angela rubbed Sam's arm comfortingly as he drank a small glass of water.

"You okay, Sammy?" she asked gently.

"I'll be fine," he muttered when he noticed a sign on the stairs. "Hey, look."

Angela turned around and noticed the same sign saying: PRIVATE—Please Respect Our Privacy. Sam stepped over the chord carefully and helped Angela over it. The couple continued up the stairs, noticing blood on the railing. They got to the bathroom and Sam flipped on the lights, and he noticed blood on the shower curtain. He pulled it back and groaned in disgust when he saw a bloody mass of skin, hair, and teeth inside the bathtub.


	8. The Big Empty Part 2

_Madison, Wisconsin_

Dean took a sip from his flask, the alcohol burning his throat slightly. Mia just looked on and scoffed.

"Problem?" Dean looked up.

"You just upset your brother so much, he had to leave the room with his wife," Mia replied. "And Jack? Look at him. He's terrified of you."

"Nah. No, we're simpatico. Right, kid?" Dean asked Jack.

"We're simpatico," Jack answered flatly.

"Convincing," Mia muttered sarcastically. "You're angry, Dean."

"And?" he quirked a brow.

"And if you don't want to do anything about it, that's your business. But you're aiming it at everyone in your life."

Suddenly, Sam and Angela burst into the room frantically. Sam aimed his gun at Mia while Angela ran and picked up Grace.

"She's a shape-shifter!" Sam exclaimed.

"No, no." Mia raised her hands.

"We found hair… and teeth." Angela glared as Dean pointed his gun at Mia. "You must've shed your skin, what, couple of hours ago?"

"And here, I just thought she was annoying." Dean sassed.

"What's going on?" Jack asked in confusion.

"Doc's a monster," Dean answered. "She killed her patients."

"No!" Mia exclaimed. "No. No. I am what you say, but I have never killed anyone."

"Then, what are you doing here?" Sam interrogated.

"I'm helping people. My patients. I shift into the person that they've lost, so that they could see them one last time, so that they can say goodbye." Mia explained honestly.

"Well, Wes Bailey… Gloria Simon… they're both dead." Dean informed.

"What?" Mia's brows creased together in shock and confusion.

"Gloria was killed by her son, or at least someone who looked like him," Dean replied.

"Three nights ago, Wes was killed by somebody who looked like his dead wife," Angela added.

"So you wanna tell us how you're innocent again?" Dean raised his brows.

"Okay, I, um… I have an alibi for Wes. I volunteer at the women's shelter downtown. I was there that night. You can call them. I know you guys are hunters. But please, I am telling you the truth."

~/~\~

Dean walked back into the room after his phone call with the women's shelter ended. "All right. Alibi checks out."

"What?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I'm surprised, too."

"Okay," Angela pursed her lips as she looked at Mia. "Well, if you're not doing this, who is?"

"Oh, God." Mia inhaled deeply. "I think I know." She muttered as she moved to take a box from the drawer behind her.

"Hey," Sam warned as he raised his gun slightly.

Mia took out a photograph of a man and showed it to the hunters. "His name's Buddy. When we got together, I was young and stupid. He's a shifter, like me. The only one I'd ever met other than my mother. But he liked hurting people."

"Did he hurt you?" Jack inquired.

Mia nodded silently and she took a deep breath. "I left. Changed my face, my name. Buddy wouldn't just kill people. He'd ruin their lives. He said he liked to see the look on their face when they realized that they had nothing left. What I'm doing here… I know it can't make up for what… what he…" she sighed. "What we did, but I'm trying."

"If Buddy is doing this," Angela started. "He's targeting your patients. So who else has access to this office, your notes, your appointments?"

"Patients and staff are in here all day." Mia shrugged weakly.

"If you had to pick one." Dean pressed.

"Uh… Tom, my assistant."

"I'll check it out," Dean muttered.

"I'll come with," Jack suggested.

"Uh…"

Angela gave Dean a warning look and cleared her throat slightly. "That sounds like a good idea, Dean."

"Fine. Whatever." He grumbled.

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up outside of Tom's house and Dean threw it in park before turning to Jack.

"All right, stay in the car."

"Dean, I—I just—I wanna help." Jack stumbled over his words. "Sam and Angela told me about the plan for your mother and her father."

"Well, there's something you should know," Dean started. "Sam and Angie's plans don't always work out. Wait here."

~/~\~

Back at Mia's studio, Sam was talking on the phone while Angela had Grace on her lap.

"Yeah, yeah, no. I… All right. Got it. Thanks." Sam said before he hung up.

"What?" Mia asked.

"Dean says Tom is in the clear."

"How do you know?"

"He, uh, he handed him a silver dollar," Sam answered. "Didn't burn. Turns out your assistant's just a nice guy with five cats."

Mia nodded as she watched the security footage on Sam's laptop. "What are you doing?"

"Scrubbing your security footage," Angela replied. "If anyone's eyes flare…"

"Then they're the shifter." Mia finished.

"Exactly." Angela nodded.

"Right."

"So… tell me," Sam started curiously. "How exactly does this work with your patients? You show up as their dead relatives, and they think what?"

"Honestly? They don't really care." Mia admitted. "They chalk it up to hypnotism, a lucid dream. They explain it away because at the end of the day, they get to say goodbye."

"Hmm." Angela hummed. "And that works?"

"Mmhmm. People? We're hardwired to want closure. You know?" she explained as she stared at the couple. "You two never got a chance to say goodbye either, did you?"

Sam was about to answer when he noticed something on the camera footage. "Whoa, whoa. Check it out."

On the laptop screen, there was the man that the hunters had ran into earlier while entering Mia's studio earlier that day. Sam zoomed in on his face, only to reveal that his eyes were flaring.

"There. Who is that?" Sam asked.

"That's John Driscoll," Mia answered. "I only started seeing him a few weeks ago."

~/~\~

Mia opened the door to her studio and Dean and Jack walked in.

"Hey," Dean greeted.

"Hi," Mia replied.

"Unca Dean!" Grace ran up to him. "You're back!"

"Hey, sweetheart." He ruffled her hair. "Where are Sam and Angie?"

"Buddy's posing as one of my patients," Mia explained. "Sam traced his phone. I let them take my car. They left about 10 minutes ago."

Dean frowned deeply. "They didn't call me."

"Well, can you blame them?" Mia retorted as Dean grabbed his phone.

"Mia?" Jack whispered. "Could I talk to you?"

"Yes, of course," Mia replied. "This way." She urged as Dean watched them go into another room.

"Come on, Sam," Dean muttered. "Pick up the phone."

~/~\~

Dean's phone rang and he quickly picked up. "Hey, what's up?"

 _"Hey,"_ Sam's voice rang through. _"We, uh, we were too late. Shifter's gone. Driscoll's dead."_

"Dammit." Dean sighed. "All right. Well, get back here."

 _"Yeah, on our way,"_ Sam replied before he hung up.

"Well, that was too freakin' easy," Dean muttered as he looked down at the real Dean, laying on the floor, unconscious.

~/~\~

Buddy handcuffed Dean to the fireplace next to Jack.

"Buddy, what are you doing?" Mia demanded.

"What am I doing?" he repeated incredulously.

"Yeah."

"What am I doing? What are you doing, huh?" Buddy asked as Dean woke up. "You think you can just leave? Build this whole new life for yourself without me, huh?"

"Kid," Dean muttered, catching Buddy's attention.

"Oh, you're up," Boddy smirked devilishly.

"Wait, no, no, no, no, no! Don't hurt them!" Mia pleaded desperately.

"Oh, begging for hunters? That's not my girl."

"I'm not your girl," Mia replied firmly.

"You always did think you were too good for me even though I gave you everything."

"Jack," Dean whispered.

"You used me!" Mia shouted at Buddy.

"Yeah, well, welcome to the world, sweetheart! Everybody uses everybody."

"You gotta snap these cuffs," Dean muttered to Jack.

"I never stopped looking for you," Buddy told Mia.

"I can't," Jack mumbled weakly.

"And when I found this place, when I saw all that…"

"Yes, you can," Dean assured.

"…warm, fuzzy good you were doing. I couldn't let you have that." Buddy continued.

"Sammy and Angie believe in you, and when they believe, they'll go Hell for leather…" Dean whispered.

"So, I took it all away, and it was fun." Buddy taunted Mia.

"…but you gotta try." Dean urged Jack.

"You're… you're a…" Mia stammered.

"What? A monster? Well, so are you. And it's about time you embraced that. So I'm not gonna kill those boys. You are. You end them, or you die, courtesy of Tweedledee's silver bullets. So, what's it gonna be, princess?" Buddy pointed a gun at her.

"Shoot me." She spread out her arms. "Shoot me!"

Buddy saw on the security camera footage that Sam and Angela were back. "Look," he laughed. "Baby brother and lil sis are back."

"No. No!" Mia cried as Buddy pointed the gun at the door. "Stop!"

"Like shooting hunters in a barrel," Buddy smirked.

"Sam, Angie, no!" Dean yelled, earning a punch from Buddy.

~/~\~

Sam and Angela walked into Mia's studio and looked around curiously. Grace popped her head out from behind a wall.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Grace whispered.

Sam's brows furrowed and he picked Grace up. "What's wrong Peanut?"

"There was a scary man," Grace sniffled. "Unca Dean told me to hide."

"You're okay. I got you." Sam assured. "Dean?" he called out.

"Sam! Angie!" Dean's voice called out from another room.

Sam handed Grace to Angela and pulled out his gun. "You two stay here, okay?"

He pressed a kiss to Angela's forehead and cautiously walked towards the door.

~/~\~

"We're in here!" Buddy yelled, mimicking Dean's voice.

"Stop," Mia pleaded.

Buddy prepared to shoot Sam and muffled Mia's cries. Sam opened the door and put his gun away.

"No!" Jack yelled.

He used his powers to stop Buddy, who fired his gun off anyway. Jack's eyes flashed gold and he deviated the bullet and threw Buddy against the wall. Sam pulled out his gun and shot Buddy square in the chest, killing him.

~/~\~

Mia knelt beside Buddy's body while Sam, Dean, Angela, Grace, and Jack stood nearby.

"You sure about this?" Dean asked.

"What Buddy did was my fault," she stood up. "I should've… You guys can go. I'll take care of him. You know, I just—I just wanted to help people."

"You did," Jack replied, earning a weak smile from Mia.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Jack was drinking a glass of water when Dean walked into the kitchen to grab a couple bottles of beer and apple juice for Angela.

"Hey." Jack greeted awkwardly.

"Hey," Dean replied. "You did good today, Jack." He complimented before leaving.

Once Dean was gone, Jack allowed a small, genuine smile to creep over his face.

~/~\~

Dean handed Sam a bottle of beer and Angela her cup of apple juice. Dean moved to sit on the edge of the table.

"Listen, guys, back at, uh, Mia's, I was out of line. I'm sorry for being a…" he trailed off. "A dick, lately."

"Thanks." Sam and Angela murmured.

"And maybe you guys are right, about the kid," Dean admitted. "I mean, he tries. I'll give him that. And he tapped his powers, saved our ass, so that's a win."

"Yeah. I guess." Angela mumbled.

Dean's brows furrowed slightly. "What's up, kiddo?"

Angela blinked back her tears and cleared her throat. "What if you're right? About Mary and Dad? What if they're dead, and—and Sammy and I are just in denial?"

"Don't say that." Dean shook his head.

"What?" Sam looked up at his brother. "You've been wanting us to admit that since it happened."

"I know I have, but don't say that. I need you two to keep the faith, for all of us." Dean replied. "'Cause right now, I… Right now, I don't believe in a damn thing."


	9. Advanced Thanatology Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

In the bunker's kitchen, Dean was making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when Sam and Angela walked in.

"Hey," Sam greeted.

"Hey," Dean replied.

"PB&J for breakfast?" Angela arched her brow. "Strong work."

"Yep," Dean mumbled as he continued making his sandwich.

Sam walked over to the fridge and grabbed a beer. "You want a beer with that?"

Dean's brows knitted together in confusion and he replied, almost in a questioning tone, "I'm cool?"

"Come on, live a little. Here." Sam placed the beer in front of Dean before he returned to his spot next to Angela.

Dean narrowed his eyes slightly in suspicion. "What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, leading to an awkward pause between the three hunters. "Anyway, check this out. I think Angie and I found something." He set the iPad down in front of Dean. "Three days ago, kid named Shawn Raider was found wandering the side of the road near Grand Junction, Colorado, bleeding from the head. Best friend was missing. And get this—only word he said? 'Monster.'"

Dean cocked his head slightly in interest. "Okay. Well, that sounds like something."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "So, I thought we'd check it out, you, me, and Angie. Jody already said she could babysit Grace."

"And what about Jack?" Dean questioned.

"He's uh, he's catching up on all of my old fantasy DVDs— _Red Sonja, Beastmaster,_ uh, _Beastmaster II_ —you know, with the time-traveling ferrets," Sam answered.

Dean's nose crinkled in disbelief and he shook his head slightly. "Yeah. Wow, how you ever got laid—let alone got Angie to _marry_ you—I'll never know."

Angela's eyes raked over Sam's body and she smirked at Dean. "Oh, I can _definitely_ think of a few reasons."

Dean cringed and overdramatically gagged. "Gross, Angie."

"Anyway," Sam cut in, a faint blush tinting his cheeks. "I was thinking we'd leave Jack behind."

"Really?" both Dean and Angela asked in shock.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "We'll put up some extra warding. He'll be fine. I mean, when's the last time we worked a case, just the three of us?"

"It's been a while," Dean admitted.

"Exactly. So?" Sam pressed, earning a nod in approval from Dean.

~/~\~

_Grand Junction, Colorado_

The Impala pulled up to the curb in front of Penny's house. Sam, Dean, and Angela got out of the car dressed in their FBI threads. Sam handed Dean and Angela their badges.

"Agent Page?" Dean opened his badge. "I thought you always liked to be Agent Page."

"Yeah, well, changing it up," Sam replied before he knocked on the door.

Penny answered the door and she clearly looked worn out and exhausted. "May I help you?"

"Yeah, sorry to bother you, ma'am," Dean started as they flashed their badges. "Agents Page, Plant, and Copeland. FBI."

"We're here to follow up on the incident with your son," Angela added gently.

"Well, the police have already been here." She informed. "Shouldn't you talk to them?"

"We did, but we'd like to talk with you as well. And Shawn." Sam replied.

Penny shifted back and forth nervously, and Dean picked up on it.

"Something wrong?"

"Shawn, he… won't talk. He can't."

Angela's brows pinched together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The doctors say… he's okay physically, that it's psychological. You know, trauma, like he… he… saw some—saw something so awful." Her voice broke. "God I don't even know what he was doing out that late."

~/~\~

Dean knocked on Shawn's door before he opened it. Shawn was sat at his desk with a bandage over his left eye, and he was drawing frantically.

"Shawn?" Dean asked as he entered the room slowly. "Hey, I'm Dean. I heard you had a rough time. You wanna tell me about it?"

Shawn refused to make eye contact with Dean as he continued drawing. Dean noticed the drawings of the men in bird-like masks.

~/~\~

Sam and Angela were sat at Penny's kitchen counter having a cup of coffee.

"And, uh, Evan, he's still missing," Penny started. "Uh… He, Shawn, and their friend Mike Ramos, they're inseparable."

"So, has anyone spoken with Mike?" Angela asked curiously.

"Everyone. He says he doesn't know what happened, but…"

"But you don't believe him." Sam finished.

Penny shook her head. "Those boys do everything together. I just… I just—I just don't know."

~/~\~

"What is that?" Dean nodded to the drawings. "A monster? Is that the one you told the cops about?"

Shawn stopped drawing for a brief moment, indicating to Dean that he was correct in his assumption.

"You know…" Dean sat down on the chair next to Shawn's desk. "I know what it's like to see monsters. And I know that even when they're gone, they never really go away. You see 'em when you close your eyes. You see 'em in your dreams. But you know what? Me, my brother, and his wife, we're the people that stop the monsters. We're the people that scare them. But you gotta talk to me."

~/~\~

Later that night, the Impala pulled into a parking garage for the Royal Towers Hotel and got out of the car.

"So, he didn't say anything?" Angela asked as they walked toward the hotel.

"Not a word. Whatever that kid saw, it messed him up." Dean muttered.

"Well, I say we talk to the other friend, uh, Mike, first thing in the morning," Sam suggested.

"Sounds like a plan."

"So," Sam stopped in front of the hotel doors. "Strip club?"

"Wait," Dean raised his brows. "Sorry. What?"

"U-um, s-strip… club." Sam stammered. "There's one just outside of town, the, uh… Clamdiver."

Angela scrunched up her face. "Baby, you wanna go to the Clamdiver?"

"Yeah. It—it got great reviews." He mumbled.

Dean narrowed his eyes. "You read reviews for the Clamdiver?"

"It—it—it got four and a half—

"Dude, what is going on with you?" Dean interrupted.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked innocently.

"All day. You give me a-a beer for breakfast. You—you have me Agent Page, which you always like to be. You—you didn't whine about me blaring my music the whole way here. And when we stopped for lunch, you ordered me chili fries."

"You love chili fries." Sam shrugged.

"Everybody loves chili fries!" Dean exclaimed. "That's not the point. Now you wanna go hang out at a strip club? You hate strip clubs."

Sam scoffed. "No, I don't."

"Dude, you wouldn't even let me take you to a strip club for your bachelor party." Dean reminded. "So what is it? Is it my birthday? Did—did I win a bet that I don't know about? What?"

"No, nothing. Nothing. I—I mean, I'm just trying to be nice."

"Why?" Dean asked skeptically.

"Because…" Sam sighed heavily. "You know why."

"I'm fine," Dean assured.

"No, you're not, Dean," Sam argued as Dean turned to enter the hotel and the couple followed. "You said you don't believe in anything and—and that's… that's not true. That's not you. You—you—you do believe in things. You believe in people. That's who you are. That's what you do. I know you're in a dark place, and I-I just want to help."

"Okay. Look, I-I've been down this road before and I fought my way back. I will fight my way back again."

"How?" Angela lifted a brow.

"Same way I always do—bullets, bacon, and booze." Dean rang the front desk bell. "A lotta booze."

~/~\~

In the hotel room, the alarm clock was beeping, and Sam reached to shut it off as Angela stirred awake. He noticed that Dean's bed hadn't been slept in. The couple heard loud snoring and Sam moved to the foot of their bed and saw Dean in his suit, laying on the floor with a pink bra around his neck, a tie around his head, and what seemed to be a whip in his hand.

Sam's nose crinkled and he could practically smell the alcohol coming off of Dean's body. "Great."

Sam and Angela got dressed and checked on Dean who was snoring loudly. Sam grabbed the keys to the Impala while Angela took out her phone and snapped a photo of Dean.

"Angie," Sam reprimanded.

"That's going in a scrapbook." Angela giggled as they left the room.

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up to the farm and the couple got out. They walked towards Mike Ramos, who was unloading bales of hay.

"So, you don't know where Shawn went that night?" Angela questioned.

"No. I already told the cops."

"Right." Sam nodded. "Of course. But problem is, when something bad happens, we have to triple-check."

"Anyway, I wasn't with them."

"Them. You weren't with them," Angela raised her brows. "So, Shawn was with somebody. Maybe your friend Evan?"

"I don't know." Mike shrugged.

"You know, we'd like to believe you, Mike, but, um… here's the thing," Sam pursed his lips. "You ever see those detective shows where whenever somebody lies, they dart their eyes to the side?"

"That's a real thing?" Mike asked.

"Oh, yeah." Sam nodded. "So, if there's anything that you forgot to tell the police, I need you to tell us." He added as Mike looked around nervously.

"Mike," Angela started softly. "Even could be in serious danger."

Mike scoffed. "He's not. He's just hiding out somewhere. Evan is always pulling crap like this. It's just a prank."

"Okay, so what happened to Shawn, that's a prank, too?" Sam asked.

"They, um, they were going to the old Meadows place, out on Nighthawk Drive."

"Okay. How come?" Sam questioned.

"Evan dared us to go, and… it was stupid and creepy, and I didn't… I-I got scared." Mike stammered. "But Evan, Shawn… they're gonna be okay, right?"

Angela looked at Mike softly. "We hope so, hon."

~/~\~

Dean was at the breakfast buffet at the hotel with sunglasses on, loading his plate with strips of bacon. Sam and Angela walked in and headed in Dean's direction.

"Hangover raid on the continental breakfast?" Sam raised his brows.

"Shh." Dean hushed.

"What?" Sam's brows furrowed.

"First of all, it's complimentary. Second of all, what happened to being nice to me?" Dean asked as Sam pulled a bottle of liquor out of a paper bag and handed it to Dean. "You are forgiven."

The three hunters walked to a table in the back. Dean sat down and Sam sat across from him, pulling Angela onto his lap.

"So, we talk to the other friend, Mike. And we think we got something," Angela started as she took the iPad and showed Dean. "Meet Dr. Avery Meadows. He worked here back in the early '60s. Uh, people would come to him for help with mental illness. But no matter what they had—depression, anxiety, whatever—the cure was always the same. He lobotomized them."

"Mm. Fun."

"Yeah. Those that lived, he kept as his 'patients,'" Sam used air quotes. "And he would experiment on them in his house, which is exactly where Evan and Shawn were headed that night."

"That's where Shawn freaked out and where Evan went missing?"

"Worth a shot." Sam shrugged. "I mean, when people found out what Meadows was doing, he was tried and executed. But who knows? You know, maybe he made a demon deal."

"Or maybe he wasn't even human to begin with," Dean suggested before pointing at the iPad. "This here? That's what Shawn was drawing over and over."

"Really?" Angela asked.

"Yeah. What's up with the creepy-ass mask?"

"It's a plague mask," Sam answered. "Doctors used to use them. They thought they filtered out disease. As a matter of fact, when they arrested Meadows, he was wearing one. They had to hold him down and rip it off."

Suddenly, Angela's phone rang and she fished it from her pocket. "Hello? Penny. What happened?"

~/~\~

Penny was in Shawn's bedroom talking with the three hunters.

"I don't know," she whispered. "Shawn had a bad dream. I checked on him. I… It seemed like he was getting better. I went back to my room, but it got a little cold, so I thought Shawn must have opened a window. But when I came back in to close it, he was just… gone."

Dean looked at one of the drawings on Shawn's desk and picked it up.

~/~\~

The hunters were walking out of Penny's home and toward the Impala.

"This on me," Dean shook his head. "I saw how messed up Shawn was. I should've pushed him harder."

"We don't know he's dead, all right," Angela replied. "Penny said it got cold, so it could be a ghost."

"Yeah, but what's a ghost doing, showing up at a kid's place? It's not like Shawn was dragging a body around."

"According to the reports, Meadows was cremated," Sam informed. "So, maybe his spirit is tied to something else, an object…"

"So, what, Shawn took something from the house?"

"It's possible." Angela nodded.

"All right, where's the kid now?"

"Well, Meadows 'treated' the victims at his house," Sam shrugged. "So if this is him, maybe that's where he took Shawn."

~/~\~

Later that night, the Impala pulled up in front of the Meadows Mental Health Center. The three of them walked inside and turned on their flashlights.

"Shawn?" Dean called out as Sam dropped the duffle bag. "Shawn, you in here?"

Angela switched on the EMF meter and it started warbling. "Dean check this out. Definitely a ghost."

"Guys," Dean replied almost too calmly.

Sam and Angela turned out of the way, only to be met with a man in the bird-mask holding a whirring drill. Sam immediately stepped in front of Angela protectively.

"What's up, Doc?" Dean muttered.

The masked man hit Sam, sending him flying across the room into several chairs. Angela quickly darted to check on Sam and the figure rapidly moved in front of Dean. The figure knocked the sawed-off salt gun out of Dean's hands and sent him across the room, hitting a chain-link fence. The masked-man stood in front of Dean, coming closer to his head with the whirring drill.


	10. Advanced Thanatology Part 2

Angela swung an iron crowbar at the figure and it disappeared. Sam offered a hand to Dean and helped him up.

"Thanks." Dean breathed out.

"Yeah." Angela nodded.

The three hunters ascended the large staircase and traveled down the long, dark corridor.

"Shawn?" Sam called out.

As they walked further down the corridor, they found the doctor's examination room. Dean looked around and spotted the masks on the shelf.

"The mask," he started. "You said they had to practically tear it off of him, right?"

"Yeah," Sam replied.

"So, if he's tied to something…" Dean picked up a mask, causing Meadows to start screaming from somewhere in the house. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

"Door. Salt. Burn 'em." Sam instructed.

"All of them?" Dean asked.

"Yeah!"

Dean found a trashcan and started to burn the masks while Sam salted the door. The masked figure appeared through the door but stopped part-way through. A loud rumbling could be heard and the salt line was blown away.

"No. We ain't got much time." Sam told Dean as the masked man appeared in the doorway.

Angela shot him with her salt gun but the figure quickly reappeared. "Hurry!"

Dean lit the masks on fire and the masked figure went up in flames, disappeared. "You guys good?"

"Yeah, we're good," Angela confirmed. "Let's go find Shawn."

"Yeah."

Sam, Dean, and Angela gathered their things and headed back down the long corridor. Sam frowned and slowed down.

"Guys? Wait." Sam stopped them. "I can still see your breath."

"What the hell, dude?" Dean asked as a door slammed in the distance.

"I think it might be another ghost." Sam theorized as glass shattered.

"I think there's a lot," Angela replied as the lightbulbs around them shattered. "Let's go! Go!"

As the three hunters ran, several voices could be heard saying, 'We need a doctor!' on repeat.

"They're asking for the doctor," Dean commented.

"These must be the people he killed," Angela replied as they ran.

"Well if they're ghosts, then why can't we see them?" Dean demanded.

"Maybe they aren't strong enough to pierce the veil," Sam replied as the beds moved towards them.

"Yeah, but they're strong enough to kill us?! Great." Dean complained as the descended the large staircase. "You know, what? Those bodies have gotta be buried in the house somewhere."

"Okay, we check it, top to bottom," Angela suggested.

"There's no time." Dean started rummaging through his duffle bag frantically.

Sam's brows creased together. "What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna find out where these bodies are buried."

"So?" Sam pressed.

"So, I'm gonna ask 'em." Dean shrugged nonchalantly.

"What? How?" Sam gaped.

"Easy," Dean opened a metal box and held up two large syringes. "One needle stops the heart, the other one starts it up again."

"No, no, no." Angela shook her head.

"Look, we can't talk to 'em on this side of the veil, so I'm gonna go to the other side. I'm gonna work my way through all these Caspers until we find out where this freak hid the bodies."

"Dean, you're talking about killing yourself," Sam stressed.

"Yeah? Well, it worked before." Dean muttered as he prepared the syringes.

"That's an insane risk to take," Angela argued.

Dean looked up at the couple. "Listen, I need three minutes. Okay?"

"Don't even… Dean!" Sam exclaimed as his brother plunged the need into his chest. "Dean? Hey. Dammit. Hey, hey, hey," Sam tried to help him. "Dean? Dean!"

Dean's ghost stood behind Sam and Angela kneeling over his body. Dean moved to the large staircase and spotted one of the ghosts.

"Hey!" he called out. "Ghost dude! Hey, hey, hey. Hey, wait up, pal."

He followed the pale ghost with bloody eyes but was stopped by a polite young woman with red hair.

"Hello," she smiled sweetly. "My name is Jessica and I'm here to lead you to your next life."

"Yeah, hi. Dean. Little busy right now." He waved before following the ghost. "Yo!"

"Oh, God." Jessica cringed

Meanwhile, Sam checked his watch as he and Angela knelt next to Dean's body. Angela grabbed a container of salt from the duffle and poured it in a circle around Dean.

~/~\~

Sam was preparing the second syringe for Dean and checked his watch again. "Come on, Dean. Come on."

~/~\~

Dean followed the pale ghost with bloody eyes. "Hey. Wait up. Hey. Hey, do you, uh…" he trailed off as the ghost vanished through a large fireplace. "Oh, come on."

"I know you." Shawn's voice came from behind him.

Dean turned around and his eyes softened slightly. "Shawn."

"You're the FBI man from my house. You're dead, too?" Shawn asked.

"I, uh… Yeah. What happened to you?"

"The man with the drill. He was in my room." Shawn answered.

~/~\~

_The masked figure entered Shawn's bedroom as the boy got out of bed. The figure charged at Shawn and possessed him with ease. A trickle of ectoplasm dripped from his eye and 'Shawn' grabbed the mask he had taken from the house. 'Shawn' walked to the Meadow's Center while wearing the mask and entered the exam room._

~/~\~

"The Doc—he possessed you and he killed you." Dean realized.

"I couldn't stop it," Shawn's voice wavered. "He said I'd feel better, but… I just… I miss my mom."

Dean shook his head sadly. "Shawn, I should've… I'm so sorry."

"Evan's here, too," Shawn replied. "We can't leave. We… Why can't we leave?!"

~/~\~

Sam checked his watch again as thunder clapped outside. "Stupid."

~/~\~

"I know you're scared, okay? But I'm gonna help you." Dean assured. "I'm gonna help you get out of here."

"Help me get home?" Shawn asked hopefully.

Dean pursed his lips. "Help you go to a better place. But I need you to tell me… The doc, where did he put your body?"

~/~\~

Dean ran up the large staircase to where Sam and Angela were with his body.

"Sam? Angie, I got it!" he exclaimed. "Let's do this."

The timer on Sam's watch started beeping. "All right." He muttered as he injected the second needle into Dean's chest.

"Come on, come on, come on," Dean whispered.

"Dean. Dean? Hey! Dean!" Angela shook Dean with no response.

Dean frowned deeply. "Why is it not working?"

"No, no," Sam whispered. "No, no, no, no. Dean! Hey. Can you hear me? Dean. Dean! Hey, wake up." He shook his brother. "Hey, Dean. No, no, no, no, no."

"Hey, Dean." Billie's voice greeted him from behind.

"Hey! Wake up." Angela exclaimed.

"Billie," Dean turned around.

A smirk tugged at her lips. "We need to talk."

~/~\~

"Hey. Hey! Wake up, Dean." Sam pleaded.

"And…" Billie trailed off.

"Wake up. Hey!" Sam exclaimed as Billie froze the scene in time.

"That's enough of that." She muttered.

"No, I saw Cas kill you," Dean recalled.

"How's that working out for him?" Billie retorted. "It's funny to hear a Winchester talk about the finality of dying. This reality—it has rules, Dean. So many rules. And one of them? Kill one incarnation of Death, like Angela did, the next Reaper to die takes his place. So… when Castiel stabbed me in the back, turns out, I got a promotion." She smirked as she showed Dean a white stoned ring. "New job. New gear."

"So you died to become Death?" Dean lifted a brow.

"This universe can be so many things, and sometimes, it is poetic. That's why we need to talk."

~/~\~

Dean was suddenly standing in a black and white corridor of shelves with Billie. "The hell?"

"Welcome to my reading room," she replied as she leaned her scythe against the wall.

"So… am I dead?" Dean questioned.

"You killed yourself," Billie replied obviously.

"No. Are you keeping me dead?" Dean clarified.

"Now, that depends on you."

"Okay," he nodded. "Uh… Well, congrats on the promotion. Uh, but I got a house full of ghosts waiting on me and, my brother and Angie to get back to, so if it's up to me—

"I didn't say it was up to you." Billie interrupted. "I said it depends on you. Word on the interdimensional street is you've been slipping between worlds, Dean. I wanna know how you did it. Now."

"Well, I thought Death knew everything."

"Then you can imagine house this one little blind spot is really bothering me," Billie replied.

Dean eyed Billie for a moment. "What's in it for me?"

"What do you want?"

Dean thought for a moment. "Free the ghosts."

"Excuse me?" Billie's brows shot up.

"Free the ghosts at the Meadows house. Let them move on, I'll tell you whatever you wanna know." Dean promised.

"Deal."

~/~\~

"It's done," Billie told Dean.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Dean asked skeptically.

"You don't. But then again, I'm not the one breaking cosmic bargains left and right, now am I?"

Dean chuckled lightly. "Yeah, it's not like you to hold a grudge."

"Don't I? So… Spill."

"Lucifer's son. Jack. When he was born, it created a little rip." Dean explained.

"A little rip?" she repeated.

"Mm."

"Into another world? And you went there?"

"Mm. Yeah, I'll just say it's, uh, it's not Candy Land."

"I'll bet." Billie agreed.

"Why do you care?" Dean demanded.

"Because I do. Because… this whole multi-versal quantum construct we live in, it's like a house of cards. And the last thing I need is some big, dumb Winchester knocking it all down."

"Hmm. That does sound like us." Dean nodded.

"You've changed," Billie noted. "When you bargained with me just now, you could've asked to go back, to live."

"Well, I figured with you in charge, there's no getting back for me."

"That doesn't sound like the Dean Winchester I know and love. The man who has been dead so many times but it never seems to stick. Maybe you're not that guy anymore," she looked him up and down. "The guy who saves the world, the guy who always thinks he'll win no matter what. You have changed. And you tell people it's not a big deal. You tell people you'll work through it but you know you won't, you can't and that scares the hell out of you. Or… am I wrong?"

"What do you want me to say?" Dean countered. "Doesn't matter. I don't matter."

"Don't you?"

"I couldn't save Mom or Robert. I couldn't save Cas. I can't even save a scared little kid. Sam and Angie keep trying to fix it, but I just keep dragging them down. So, I'm not going to beg. Okay, if it's my time, it's my time."

"You really believe that," Billie replied, earning a nod from Dean. "You wanna die. Dean… every notebook on this particular shelf tells a version of how you die. You specifically, heart attack, burned by a red-haired witch, stabbed by a ghoul in a graveyard, and on and on. But which one's right? That depends on you, on the choices you make."

"Well, I guess I made my choice." Dean shrugged.

"But… unfortunately, none of these books say you die today," Billie replied.

Dean's forehead creased in confusion. "Come again?"

"Since I got this… new job, I stand witness to a much larger picture. Do you know what I see? You. And Sam. And Angela. You're important."

"Why?" Dean demanded.

"You have work to do. That's all you need to know," she answered. "And trust me, having my eyes opened to the necessity of any humans, especially Winchesters, is not a thrill. So… you wanna die, but I say… keep living."

"Hmm. I need to know. My Mom—

~/~\~

Dean's eyes flew open and he gasped for air as he sat up.

"Hey. You're okay." Angela assured.

"Yeah." Dean exhaled.

"Yeah. You're okay." Sam slumped wearily against the wall.

~/~\~

The coroner's team was removing an occupied body bag from the Meadows house. Angela squeezed Penny's arm to comfort her, but the older woman remained silent. Angela and Sam walked toward Dean, who was leaning against the Impala.

"How'd it go?" Dean asked.

"About how'd you figure," Sam answered. "Hey, what happened back there? I mean, the shot didn't work and all of a sudden, you're back."

"I don't know. I guess it took a minute for the drug to kick in. I guess I got lucky." Dean lied.

"Lucky?" Angela quirked a brow.

"Yeah."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Hold—Dean. Hold on a second," Sam stopped him. "What about the ghosts? 'Cause we checked the EMF. They're all gone. Was that lucky too?"

"We can talk about it later," Dean replied.

"We _won't_ walk about it later," Angela argued. "You know that."

Dean watched as Penny spoke with the police. "I saw Death. The Death."

Sam's brows furrowed. "He's dead."

"No, _she's_ not." Dean corrected. "It's Billie. I guess she got a new gig. She's the one that took care of the ghosts."

"W-why would she help us?" Angela stammered.

"She wanted intel." Dean shrugged. "She said that we're important, that we have work to do."

"What the hell's that mean?" Sam demanded.

"I have no friggin' clue." Dean shook his head.

"You okay?" Angela asked softly.

"No. Angie, I'm not okay," Dean answered. "I'm pretty far from okay. You know, my whole life, I always believed that what we do was important. No matter what the cost, no. matter who we lost, whether it was Dad or—or Bobby or—And I would take the hit. But I kept on fighting because I believed that we were making the world a better place." He explained. "And now Mom, Robert, and Cas… And I—I don't know. I don't know."

"So now you don't believe anymore," Sam replied sadly.

"I just need a win. I just need a damn win." Dean muttered before he got into the Impala.

~/~\~

The Impala sped down the road. Grace sat in the back seat, having just been picked up from Jody's house. Sam slept and Angela carded her fingers through his hair gently. Suddenly, Dean's phone rang, waking Sam.

"Yeah," Dean greeted, a dumbfounded look settling on his face.

"What?" Angela's brows furrowed.

~/~\~

The Impala drove down a narrow back street and Dean shut the car off. The hunters exited the car and Angela got Grace out of her car seat. As the approached a figure standing next to a payphone, he turned around to reveal that it was Castiel.


	11. Tombstone Part 1

"Unca Cas!" Grace exclaimed as she ran towards the angel. "I missed you."

Castiel smiled gently and picked Grace up with ease. "I missed you, too, Grace."

"Cas, is that really you?" Dean asked in shock.

"No. You're—you're dead." Sam shook his head weakly.

"Yeah, I was." Castiel walked toward the hunters. "But then I… annoyed an ancient cosmic being so much that he sent me back."

"I don't even know what to say," Sam muttered as Castiel set Grace down.

"I do. Welcome home, pal." Dean hugged the angel tightly.

Angela hugged Castiel and pressed an innocent kiss to his cheek before Sam embraced the angel.

"How long was I gone?" Castiel inquired.

"Too damn long." Dean's voice wavered.

"Where were you? In Heaven?" Angela asked.

"No," he answered. "No, I was in the Empty."

"Really?" Dean raised his brows.

"Apparently, it's where angels and demons go when they die."

"What was it like?" Angela questioned.

"Well, it's dark and… nothing," Castiel recalled. "It's like… nothing. I was sleeping, and then I heard a voice that said my name, and I woke up. I thought you… had done something."

"No," Dean shook his head. "We… we didn't even think we could bring you back."

Sam's brows creased together in thought. "So, who was it? Chuck—uh, God?"

"No. No, he has no power in the Empty."

"Well, then, who does?" Dean demanded.

Angela's eyes lit up as she realized something. "Jack."

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

In the bunker's library, Jack was typing away at his laptop when Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace entered.

"Jack!" Grace ran and sat next to him.

"Hello, Grace." The boy smiled before he looked up at the hunters. "How'd it go?"

"Well…" Dean trailed off.

"Jack, um…"

"What's wrong?" Jack asked in concern as he stood up.

Suddenly, Castiel entered the library and Jack's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Hello, Jack." Castiel greeted.

"Castiel?" the boy asked in awe.

The angel sighed. "Yeah, it's me."

"No." Jack shook his head. "We burned your body, and what's burned stays dead. How…"

"Well, that's the question we've been askin'," Dean replied.

"Jack, honey… did you, uh… Did you bring Cas back?" Angela asked softly.

"I don't know." He murmured. "I wanted him back. I… begged for him to come back, but…"

"Well, here he is." Dean glanced at the angel.

"Because of me?" Jack asked confusedly.

"We don't know," Sam admitted. "We don't know, Jack. But we—we—we think maybe."

"Thank you, Jack," Castiel told the boy sincerely.

Jack walked over to Castiel silently and hugged him tightly. "I missed you so much."

"Sam, Dean, and Angela tell me you're doing well," Castiel commented as he broke the hug.

"I am. I… watch this." Jack walked back to the table and levitated a pencil for a few seconds.

"Wow." Sam raised his brows.

"I can move the pencil." Jack smiled proudly as he sat back down. "And… I found a case. Hunter's case."

Dean's brows creased. "What kind of a—

"Zombies." Jack interrupted excitedly before looking at Castiel. "I know what zombies are now." He added as he pulled the case info up on the screen. "You see?"

"Wait," Dean squinted. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"By watching you guys," Jack answered. "Three days ago, a vintage pocket watch with a personal inscription was sold at a pawn shop. But when they went to authenticate it, they found out that it'd been buried with its owner… 20 years ago. And when they checked out the grave, it was empty." He explained. "Which means… the dead are rising in Dodge City, Kansas."

A dreamy expression crossed Dean's face and he stifled his smile. Angela rolled her eyes slightly.

"Oh God, it's his cowboy thing again." She muttered.

"Right. O-or maybe it's a-a grave robbery," Sam suggested. "But…"

"Oh." Jack frowned in disappointment.

"Yeah, but we should probably check it out." Dean shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant.

"Wait. Really?" Castiel frowned.

"Yeah, we've done more on less. Besides, Dodge City's kind of, uh, kind of awesome." Dean replied. "All right, well… three salty hunters, one half-angel kid, our resident Princess," he ruffled Grace's hair. "And a dude who just came back from the dead. Again. Team Free Will 2.0. Here we go."

~/~\~

_Dodge City, Kansas_

The Impala pulled into the parking lot of the Stampede Motel. The group walked down the corridor and stopped outside their room.

"All right, this is supposed to be the best room in the joint," Dean started as he unlocked the door and flipped on the light. "Oh, ho! The Wild Bill suite." He laughed as he looked around excitedly at the cowboy décor, Grace hot on his heels.

"Wow." Sam deadpanned.

Sam, Angela, Castiel, and Jack seemed to be more bewildered than impressed.

"Pretty cool, right?" Dean asked the group. "Dude! Gracie, check it out. Clay Allison—gun fighter extraordinaire, right? And, uh, Curly Bill Brocius, which—now, now, now, little fun fact here—was killed by Wyatt Earp himself. No kidding. Johnny Ringo, Billy the Kid. Oh, look!"

"This is cool," Grace commented as she looked around.

"Oh, Princess, it's more than cool," Dean smirked.

"He _really_ likes cowboys," Jack whispered to Castiel.

Dean booped a stuffed buffalo head on the nose. "Hey, big guy. How you doin'? That's… What's going on, Calamity Jane?"

"Yes," Castiel told Jack. "Yes, he does."

"Doc Holliday! Hey-oh!" Dean exclaimed. "This is awesome. All right, I say quick shower, steak dinner, and then tomorrow, we hit up the cemetery."

"Sounds like a plan." Angela agreed.

A set of swinging saloon-style doors creaked as Dean went into the bedroom.

"Oh, yes!" he shouted excitedly. "Stirrup hangers!"

"You can have the couch if you want. I don't sleep much." Jack offered to Castiel.

"I don't sleep at all."

~/~\~

"Still can't believe you brought your own hat," Sam commented as Dean unpacked.

"Well, I can't believe you didn't." Dean retorted.

"You're in a good mood, huh?" Sam smiled.

"Yeah. And?"

"Nothing," Angela replied. "It's just… you've been having a rough go, so it's good to see you smile."

"Well, I said we needed a big win," Dean replied. "We got Cas back. That's a pretty damn big win."

"Yeah." Sam agreed. "Fair enough."

~/~\~

Sam and Angela were sleeping in one of the motel beds with Grace sleeping in between them, while Dean snored loudly from the other bed. Meanwhile, in the other room, Castiel and Jack sat at the table while Jack researched on his laptop.

"And then there were these angels and the tried to kill me, but…" he trailed off, his brows furrowing. "I thought angels were good?"

"Well, in Heaven, 'good's' a relative term," Castiel replied.

"What's it like? Heaven?" Jack inquired curiously.

Castiel pursed his lips. "Well, that depends."

"But it's nice?"

"It can be." Castiel nodded.

"That's good." Jack murmured. "My mother's in Heaven."

"Yeah, I know she is. Kelly was… She was a very brave woman."

"She left me a message," Jack recalled. "She said I had an angel watching over me."

Castiel sighed heavily. "Jack, I'm so sorry. I-I should've been here for you."

"No. It's okay," he assured. "It's just… I understand why she trusted you. Why I trusted you."

"You remember that?"

"I remember feeling… safe," Jack remembered.

"Jack, your mother, she believed that you would do amazing things. She said that you would change the world for the better. And now, looking at you, talking to you, I know that she was right, that we were right. Kelly would be so proud of you." Castiel said sincerely.

The laptop beeped, drawing Jack's attention and breaking the moment. He typed something and it beeped again, and Jack turned the laptop so Castiel could see what he'd found.

"Oh wow. I'll go tell them."

"Jack. Jack!" Castiel warned.

Jack jumped up and rushed to wake up Dean, while Castiel attempted to stop him. Jack tapped Dean's shoulder anyway, as Castiel rushed into the room.

"Dean?" he whispered. "Dean?"

"Jack, I wouldn't do that!" Castiel exclaimed.

"Aah!" Dean woke up violently, pulling a gun from beneath his pillow.

"No, no, no!" Jack immediately backed up. "Dean, it's me. It's me."

"Ah, hey," Dean mumbled groggily. "Who's making me coffee?" he asked as he relaxed and lied back down.

~/~\~

Sometime later, after sunrise, Dean poured coffee into a mug and shuffled over to slump down on the sofa. He slurped his coffee and blinked a few times, waking up slightly.

"I told you," Castiel whispered to Jack. "He's an angry sleeper. Like a bear."

"Unca Dean snores loudly." Grace giggled as she ate her cereal.

"Okay, so 'code three' means an officer down," Sam started. "Looks like the victim was—

"Covered in in bite marks." Jack finished. "Like from a zombie."

"Or anything else that has teeth," Dean grumbled.

"Dean," Angela warned, using her 'mom voice.'

"All right, change of plans. Jack, Angie, and I will hit the graveyard. You and Cas hit up the crime scene." Sam instructed.

"Works for me," Dean replied. "We'll take Gracie along."

Sam kissed Grace on her temple. "Love you, Peanut. Be good for your Uncle Dean and Uncle Cas."

"'Kay!" Grace nodded. "Love you!"

"Love you, sweet girl." Angela smiled.

Sam, Angela, and Jack got up to leave, and Castiel rose as well, but Dean held up one finger and then pointed at his coffee. Without a word, Castiel sat back down.

"Ahh." Dean sighed happily as he drank his coffee.

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up to the crime scene and parked a short distance away. Castiel was wearing a cowboy hat with a band around it advertising their motel.

"All right," Dean started. "Listen, these Dodge City cops aren't likely to trust big city folks, so we're gonna have to blend."

"Which is why you're making me wear this absurd hat," Castiel replied.

"It's not that bad," Dean paused. "Well, actually, yeah it kind of is. Hang on." He reached over and removed the band. "All right. That's better."

"Is it?" Castiel looked in the rearview mirror.

Dean sighed. "Yeah. Look, just act like you're from Tombstone, okay?"

"The city?"

"The movie," Dean reminded. "With Kurt Russel? I made you watch it."

"Yeah, yeah. Yeah. The one with the guns and tuberculosis." Castiel mumbled. "I'm your Huckleberry." He mimicked in a deep cowboy voice.

"Yeah, exactly." Dean nodded. "Well, it's good to have you back, Cas. All right, follow my lead. We'll fit right in. Gracie, I need you to stay in the car for me, okay?"

"'Kay." Grace swung her legs back and forth.

Dean and Castiel exited the car and Dean put on his own cowboy hat as they walked towards the police officers.

"Howdy, partner." Castiel greeted one of the officers.

"Who's in charge here?" Dean asked the officer.

The officer pointed out Sergeant Joe Phillips and Dean nodded.

"Much obliged." Castiel drawled.

"Sheriff Phillips?" Dean asked.

"It's Sarge," he corrected. "Sergeant Joe Phillips. Sheriff's on vacation."

"Well, I'm Agent Russell," Dean introduced. "This here is my associate."

Castiel looked confusedly at Dean, and Dean tilted his head encouraging him to introduce himself.

"Uh, Kilmer. My name is Val Kilmer." Castiel replied.

Sergeant Phillips eyed the angel. "Yeah, okay. What do you want?"

"Well, we heard about the attack over the wire last night. Wondering what you can tell us about the victim." Dean answered.

"His name was Carl Phillips. Deputy Carl Phillips. He's… was my nephew." Sergeant Phillips explained. "Some psycho slit his throat and left the body out for the coyotes to chew on. I knew that boy since he was a day old."

"Well, we're deeply sorry for your loss." Castiel apologized sincerely.

Sergeant Phillips cleared his throat and looked down at the ground. "Anyway, what the hell's the Texas Rangers even doing up here?"

"Well, actually, we're FB—

"Rangers," Dean interrupted Castiel. "That's right. Texas Rangers."

"Mm-hmm." Sergeant Phillips hummed suspiciously.

"We've been tracking a fugitive who skipped across state lines," Dean started. "He's a real mean son of a gun. He's been robbing graves."

"Oh. We got us one of them. Carl was the one looking in on it. You think there's a connection?"

"Could be." Dean nodded.

"Well, you boys are more than welcome to poke around, but… I catch up with your runner first, there ain't gonna be much left of him to take back to Texas. You can count on it."

"Mm." Dean nodded.

~/~\~

At the funeral home adjacent to the cemetery, Athena, the mortician, was wearing pink headphones as she prepared a body for burial with bubblegum pink embalming fluid. Sam, Angela, and Jack walked in, but the woman couldn't hear them over her music. After several attempts to get her attention, she finally turned and was startled to see them.

"Dude!" she took her headphones off. "What the hell?"

"Sorry," Sam apologized. "Sorry, I-I didn't mean to scare—Um, there was no one upstairs."

"Yeah, it's just me," Athena replied.

"And you are…?" Angela asked curiously.

"Athena Lopez, undertaker," she introduced. "And you are?"

"Agents Delany and Elliot," Angela replied. "That's Agent Paxton. FBI." She gestured to Jack, who had wandered around the room.

"He's an FBI agent?" Athena scoffed. "Did his parents sign a permission slip?"

"He's a trainee," Sam lied smoothly. "Top of his class. Anyway, we're here about the grave robbery. Uh, you live on the premises, right?"

"All my life."

"But according to the police report, you didn't see anyone that night," Angela commented.

"I was out," Athena replied. "Amanda Palmer concert."

"Amanda Palmer?" Sam raised his brows.

"What about anything weird?" Jack asked curiously. "Cold spots? Strange smells?"

Athena narrowed her eyes. "I just said, I wasn't here."

"Right," Sam laughed awkwardly. "We're just trying to figure out what happened. That's all."

"You and me both," Athena muttered. "Look, if you guys wanna check out the grave, the cops have it roped off, over on the west plot."

"Great. Thanks." Angela smiled tightly. "Again, sorry."

~/~\~

Sam, Angela, and Jack walked through the graveyard. Jack held the EMF meter, which warbled wildly.

"There's something here," Jack noted. "No, wait. There."

Sam laughed lightly. "Jack, put that away. We're in a graveyard. There's gonna be EMF everywhere."

"The police report said something about rats damaging the coffin," Jack commented as they arrived at the plot.

Sam opened the coffin, where most of one end was missing.

"That's one big rat." Angela scoffed.

"Yeah." Jack agreed.

"All right. Here goes nothin'," Sam sighed as he jumped down into the grave.

Sam began digging through the dirt and pulled out a bone, holding it up so Jack and Angela could see.

"What's that?" Jack frowned.

"I think it's…"

~/~\~

"Leftovers," Dean muttered as he inspected the bone from his spot on the motel chair.

"Yeah, bite marks," Angela replied. "Looks like a ghoul."

Jack looked to Castiel, confused.

"Oh, a ghoul is a monster that feeds on the dead. They can take the form of whomever they've eaten." Castiel explained. "Decapitation kills them."

"Yeah, or bashing their brains in." Dean tossed the bone to Castiel.

"So like a… zombie shape-shifter?" Jack tilted his head.

"Pretty much, yeah." Sam nodded. "And he could have tunnels all over that graveyard."

"But if it could be anyone, how do we find it?"

~/~\~

Dean opened a beer and tossed the bottlecap onto the table. "Can I just say I'm getting real sick and tired of fighting things that look like other things?"

"Maybe the ghoul is Athena," Castiel suggested as Grace climbed onto his lap.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "A-a ghoul who own a mortuary. That's smart, but…"

"No," Angela shook her head. "She's got access to the bodies before they're ever in the ground. Anything she wants, she would just take. She doesn't have to dig them back up."

"Right." Sam sighed.

"I think I found something," Jack chimed in as he looked at his laptop. "I tracked the plates on the stolen truck from the crime scene, and I went through the city's traffic camera footage, and look. This is it. From yesterday, before the deputy was killed."

"Well, then, who's drivin'?" Dean knelt down and zoomed in to see the driver. "Holy crap. That's Dave Mather."

"Who?" Sam, Angela, and Castiel asked simultaneously.

"Dave Mather," Dean repeated. "Cowboy. Outlaw. One of the Dodge City Gang."

Dean stood up and pulled Dave Mather's photo off of the wall and showed everyone.

"He was one of the greatest gunfighters ever. I mean, he died in 1886, which makes this a little weird, but…" Dean laughed excitedly. "Mysterious Dave Mather. I'm gonna get my boots on. One of the best gunslingers ever! Whoo!"

~/~\~

"So, our ghoul ate some Old West gunfighter and stole his face?" Dean asked as he handed Sam a rifle.

"That's what it looks like." Angela nodded.

"Ha." Dean grinned.

"I think I've seen him before," Jack started. "There was a picture at the mortuary. He's Athena's boyfriend."

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up outside the mortuary. Jack, Castiel, and Grace stayed in the back seat, while Sam, Dean, and Angela got out of the car.

"All right," Sam started. "So what do we tell Athena?"

"Well, we keep it simple, tell her the guy she's been banging eats dead people, and we're here to kill him," Dean replied. "Or we could lie."

"Yeah, we definitely lie." Angela scoffed.

~/~\~

The three hunters descended to the mortuary and looked around.

"Athena?" Dean called out.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" she stormed down the stairs. "Again."

"Look, I-I'm a—

"I know who you are," she cut Sam off. "Answer the question."

"Okay, my—my associates and I, we're—we're looking for your boyfriend," Sam answered.

"Why?" Athena's brows creased. "Is this about the grave robbery?"

"And a murder," Dean replied.

"A what?" Athena's eyes widened.

"Sheriff's deputy was killed last night," Dean informed.

"We just wanna talk to him," Angela added gently. "That's all. So… do you know where he is?"

"He said he had to go to the bank." Athena shrugged.


	12. Tombstone Part 2

As Dave walked out of the bank, he noticed that Dean was waiting in the parking lot for him.

"Dave Mather," Dean drawled. "Robbing a bank. That's a bold move."

"You must be the hunter," Dave smirked.

"And you must like to play cowboy." Dean retorted.

"It's my favorite suit. You know, I like to keep a little piece of old Dave on me just to gnaw on."

Off to Dave's side, Sam cocked his gun and drew Dave's attention to him, Castiel, and Jack. Meanwhile, Angela and Grace hid behind a stagecoach.

"Let's make it two, three, four hunters!" Dave laughed wildly. "Whoo! Must be my birthday."

"Look, why don't you come with us someplace else?" Sam offered, "We can do this quick and quiet."

Dave responded by drawing his gun, so Sam fired at him and missed him. Dave fired back, and a gunfight broke out as everyone ducked for cover behind cars, while Castiel and Jack ducked behind the stagecoach.

"You guys all right?" Angela whispered.

"Yeah." Jack nodded.

"Whoo!" Dave exclaimed as a shot rang out and windows shattered.

"Okay, you stay here," Castiel told Jack.

"No, it's okay. I've got this." Jack assured.

"No, Jack." Castiel frowned. "Jack!"

Jack walked out to confront Dave, and Castiel followed after him.

"Jack! Jack!"

"Hey!" the boy called out.

Dave fired several shots that hit Jack in the chest but left him unharmed.

"What the hell?" Dave frowned deeply.

The security guard reached Dave just as Jack threw a blast of power at him, sending them both flying backward. The guard crashed into a post, but Dave rolled and got up to run away.

"No." Jack breathed out.

"Check the guard," Dean told Sam before he ran to chase Dave.

"No!" Jack cried out.

"No. No, no, no, no." Sam muttered as he, Angela, Jack, and Castiel ran to help the guard.

"Cas, I-I didn't mean to," Jack said honestly. "Castiel, you have to heal him."

Castiel attempted to heal the guard and shook his head. "I can't."

"Why—why not?"

Angela leaned down and checked for a pulse. "He's dead."

~/~\~

Back at the motel, thunder rumbled from outside. Jack and Grace were on the sofa while the hunters and Castiel conferred in the bedroom.

"Is this the first time he's hurt anyone?" Castiel whispered.

"No." Sam shook his head. "No, but it is the first time he's hurt someone that didn't get back up."

"All right, you guys should get Jack back to the bunker," Dean instructed.

"What?" Angela's brows furrowed.

"The cops are gonna be on their way. We gotta get him out of town."

"Okay, but what—what about the ghoul?" Castiel asked. "I can stay here."

"No, I'll handle it," Dean replied. "Besides, you need to be with the kid in case he… you know."

Castiel sighed heavily. "Okay. All right."

~/~\~

Later that night, Sergeant Phillips stood outside the mortuary with his rifle over his shoulder. Dean pulled up and got out of his car.

"Y'all looking for someone? 'Cause I am. Bank in town just got robbed. Turned into a real O.K. Corral type of deal. Big old shootout."

"I heard about that." Dean nodded.

"Mm-hmm." Sergeant Phillips nodded. "Shawnte, the clerk, recognized the perp's voice. She said he sounded just like the fella that's been dating Athena."

"That so?" Dean quirked a brow.

Sergeant Phillips nodded. "And we got prints back from the murder. They matched the prints from the bank. That boy's been busy. I already checked his place. It's cleaned out, but I figure he ain't goin' nowhere without his best girl. So that's why I'm here. Why are you here?"

"Same thing," Dean answered. "Trying to get the bad guy. Where's your badge?"

"I don't need one. This is family business."

"Well, I should tell you I'm not taking him alive."

"Neither am I." Sergeant Phillips promised.

"All right, then. Uh, aim for the head." Dean instructed.

~/~\~

Dean and Sergeant Phillips walked around the graveyard, searching for Dave.

"What the hell?" Sergeant Phillips muttered.

"Come on," Dean replied as they circled the mausoleum. "All right, you wait here. I'm-a flush him out."

Suddenly, the ground rumbled as Dean walked off, and Sergeant Phillips was pulled underground.

"Aah!" he yelled.

"Sarge?" Dean ran to stand over the hole. "Aw, hell." He knelt at the edge of the tunnel entrance. "Mnh-mnh! No, I don't wanna—Okay." He dove headfirst, flashlight in one hand and rifle in the other.

~/~\~

"Ugh," Dean grunted as he crawled through the tunnel. His gun got caught by a protruding rock in the tunnel and he stopped to yank it free. "Uhh! Perfect." He spat dirt out of his mouth. "Yeah. Sure. Come to Dodge City. We'll have some laughs." He muttered to himself. "Ugh."

~/~\~

Rain fell and thunder rumbled as the Impala sped down the road. Grace was asleep in the back seat in between Castiel and Jack.

"Jack, honey, are you okay?" Angela turned to look at the boy.

"Jack, I've killed people who didn't deserve it…" Castiel informed. "My friends—I've killed people I loved. I wish I could tell you that it—that it gets easier, that with time, it hurts less, but that would be a lie because it—it never gets easier. And those moments, they never stop hurting. But that doesn't mean that you should stop fighting. Doesn't mean that just because you made a mistake—and that's what this is, Jack. It's a mistake. That doesn't mean that you can't- can't be better, do better. I believe that. I have to believe that."

"And we still believe in you, Jack," Sam assured. "We, uh—

"Stop," Jack snapped. "Just… _Please_ stop."

~/~\~

Inside the mortuary, the graveyard tunnel opened behind an old crematorium door, and Dean crawled out and fell to the ground.

"Aah!" he exclaimed before he got to his feet and found Athena tied to a chair. "Hey. Hey. Hey. You okay?"

"No." she shook her head frantically. "What the hell is going on?"

"Okay, well, your boyfriend, uh, is not exactly human," Dean told her.

"What?" her forehead creased.

Across the room, Sergeant Phillips groaned as he regained consciousness, and Dean ran to check on him.

"Hey. Hey, Sarge. Hey, hey. Hey, you okay?"

"Still kickin'." He grumbled.

"Okay." Dean nodded.

"Just barely." Sergeant Phillips added. "That sumbitch dragged me down here, tossed me around like I was a damn rag doll."

"You got any idea where he is?" Dean questioned.

"A little bit."

A gun cocked behind Dean's head, and he turned to see Dave standing behind him.

"Hands up," Dave ordered. "Oh, I think you heard me. Raise 'em!" he yelled as Dean stood up. "High! Attaboy."

"Dave? Don't." Athena pleaded.

"It's okay," he assured. "I'm doing this for us, baby."

"There is no 'us." She scoffed.

"Ooh. Ouch." Dean muttered. "Breakups can be a bitch."

"Shut up," Dave growled.

"Or what?" Dean taunted.

"Or I'm gonna put a bullet right between your eyes." Dave threatened. "I mean, what'd you think was gonna happen here? You come down with no gun. Like it matters anyway. You ain't fast enough."

"No, but he is."

Dean took one step to the side, revealing Sergeant Phillips on the floor behind him, aiming Dean's rifle at Dave. Sergeant Phillips took the shot and killed Dave.

"Happy trails, cowboy." Dean drawled.

~/~\~

That morning in the graveyard, Dean and Sergeant Phillips were walking back to their cars.

"So, you mind telling me exactly what went on back there?" Sergeant Phillips asked.

"Sure," Dean nodded. "Guy named Dave killed your deputy. He tried to kill you, and you shot him dead. And I was never here."

"Fair enough."

"And the, uh, security guard at the bank, Dave killed him, too," Dean added.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean arrived back in the bunker, where Jack was sitting at the library table alone and contemplative. Sam and Angela sat at the war room table across from Castiel.

"Hey," Sam greeted.

"Hey."

"How'd it go?" Angela inquired.

"Usual," Dean replied. "Killed the bad guy, saved the girl."

"What about the, uh…" Angela trailed off.

"Took care of it."

"Good." Sam nodded.

"Good?" Jack scoffed. "How is that good? I killed someone." He stood up and walked towards them. "What was his name? The guard? Did he have a family?"

"Jack, don't do this to yourself," Castiel warned.

"No, did he?" Jack demanded.

"Yes, he did." Dean nodded.

"Jack, look, this life, what we do," Sam started. "It's… it's not easy. And we've all done things we regret."

"Just don't!" Jack snapped, causing Sam to back up and raised his hands slightly. "You're afraid of me."

"Jack, no," Castiel stressed.

"No, maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just another monster."

"No, you're not," Dean replied sincerely. "I thought you were. I did. But… Like Sam said, we've all done bad. We all have blood on our hands. So, if you're a monster, we're all monsters."

"No, you don't…" Jack shook his head. "Every time I try and do something good, people get hurt. I thought I was getting better. I'm not… I don't know what I am, but I know I can't make the world a better place, not like this. I can't even do one good thing. And I know that if I stay, I'm gonna hurt you. All of you. And… I can't. You're all I have."

"Jack, honey, listen…" Angela pleaded.

"I have to go."

"No, Jack." Castiel frowned.

"I'm sorry." Jack held up his hand and used his power to knock them all back across the room. "I'm so sorry." He repeated before he disappeared.

"Jack." Castiel breathed out. "Jack!"

"He's gone." Angela breathed out.


	13. War of the Worlds Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean walked into the library where Sam and Angela sat in front of one of the laptops. Sam had Angela's feet in his lap and was massaging them carefully. Dean set down a cup of coffee in front of Sam and a glass of water in front of Angela.

"Anything?"

"Oh. Thanks." Angela smiled up at Dean as she sipped her water. "Not yet. We put out an APB to every single hunter we know. But… Jack's off the grid."

"Kid was pretty spun out," Dean sat down across from the couple. "We'll find him. I mean, there's gotta be a sign at some point, right?"

"Yeah." Sam agreed.

"Kid can cause a tsunami with a hiccup," Dean muttered.

"I don't know," Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe he's covering his tracks."

"Or this apparent dearth of evidence is, in fact, the evidence." Castiel walked into the room.

"The evidence of…" Angela quirked a brow.

"Of some horrific misadventure that's befallen him, like being dragged down to Hell by Asmodeus. Or…" Castiel sighed. "I don't know, possibly worse, being hijacked to Heaven by angels."

"Yeah, but isn't he too fast and furious for angels?" Dean asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. That's what I'm gonna find out."

"Find out from who? From—from the angels?" Sam stammered.

"Yes," Castiel confirmed.

"All right," Dean stood up. "Well, let's go."

"Dean, you can't accompany me," Castiel started. "My contact is already anxious about meeting and won't speak in the presence of a stranger."

"So introduce me." Dean shrugged. "Then I'm not a stranger. I'll bring a six-pack."

"Dean, I swore I would protect this boy. Let me do this." Castiel replied before he walked towards the war room.

"Don't do anything stupid," Dean warned as he reluctantly sat back down.

Castiel climbed up the stairs and left through the door.

"All right," Angela sighed.

"I guess we're stuck in idle."

"So…" Sam scoffed. "What do we do? Just—just sit around here and wait?"

"Well, we could work a case," Dean suggested. "We got three murders here a couple hundred miles apart, same M.O. They were all horribly tortured before having their throat slit. Look at the body. Next to it." He turned the laptop so Sam and Angela could see it.

"She's a witch," Angela noted.

"Mm-hmm."

"Were they all witches?" Sam asked.

"Looking like." Dean nodded. "These aren't hunter kills. They're—they're more ritualistic, like a sacrament or something. Plus, all their places were ransacked, which means somebody was looking for something."

~/~\~

Dean walked out of the Clinton Police Department, talking on the phone. "Yeah, Jody. No, I mean, we don't know what's going on. We just know that they're all witches. Yeah."

Dean walked over to Sam and Angela. Sam held Grace while Angela was busy on her iPad, looking at the security camera footage.

"All right. Will do. Thanks." Dean hung up.

"All right, check this out," Angela showed Dean the iPad. "This is the surveillance footage of the last victim before she was kidnapped and killed. She turned down an alley, and that's when she got grabbed."

"Wait, stop," Dean replied. "Stop, stop."

"Stop?" Angela frowned.

"There. Blow that up."

Angela did as she was told and frowned. "No. Is that…"

"Ketch." Dean finished. "How is that possible?"

"It's not possible," Sam replied. "That—that can't be Ketch."

"Mom shot him clean through the head," Dean recalled.

"Exactly." Sam nodded. "So that can't be Ketch."

"What? Are you kidding me?" Dean scoffed. "You think I forget the face of the guy who tried to kill me? Twice? That's him. And he's 30 feet away from the girl who got tortured and murdered. I say case solved."

"Say it is Ketch, which I still don't understand. Why—why is he—

"Sam, Dean, and Angela Winchester?" Daniela interrupted, dressed in a large hat and sunglasses.

"Do we know you?" Angela questioned.

"No, but I know you," Daniela replied. "In my profession, it pays to know the enemy. My name is Daniela. I'm a witch. And I know you don't like witches, but I also know you help people who are in trouble."

~/~\~

Daniela led the three hunters and Grace to a secluded cabin in the woods.

"You live here?" Dean questioned.

"It's a safe house some of us use when we're in hiding," she answered. "From hunters, for instance. It's almost impossible to find."

"Yeah, we noticed," Sam replied. "All right, so here's the deal. Uh, we trust you about as much as you trust us, but we followed you here. So what's going on?"

"What's going on is, I survived. He had me, the serial killer you're looking for."

"Well, no one he's grabbed has lived." Dean's brows creased suspiciously. "So why should we believe you?"

Daniela reluctantly pulled off her shawl and showed them the wounds across the top of her chest and shoulders. "This is how he tortures you, slow cuts with a red-hot knife. While he was doing it, I managed to get a hand free enough to touch him and whisper a spell, to disable him just long enough to get away."

"What did he want?" Angela demanded.

"He kept asking the same thing over and over again—'Where is Rowena MacLeod?'"

"Rowena?" Sam frowned.

"Rowena's dead," Dean informed.

"That's what I told him," Daniela stressed. "That's what everybody's been telling him. That's why he'll keep doing this until he hears what he wants?"

"Did he happen to have a British accent?" Angela asked.

"Yeah. Why? Do you—

Sam pulled out his phone and showed Daniela a screencap of Ketch from the security footage. "Is this him?"

"Yes." She swallowed thickly. "You have to find him. He has to be looking for me. He knows I can identify him."

"Yeah, we want him too," Sam replied.

"You can't tell anyone that you spoke to me," Daniela begged. "Until he's caught, no one can know where I am."

"Hmm," Dean hummed. "Well, about that… I was thinking just the opposite."

~/~\~

Later that evening, after dark, Daniela sat in the cabin with lamps lit, waiting A clock chimed and someone snuck up to the cabin. Daniela heard noises outside but remained seated and tense. There was a clattering on the roof, and a gas canister dropped down the chimney and rolled into the room, sparking and smoking.

"Oh!" Daniela gasped as she stumbled out of the chair before succumbing to the gas.

At that moment, a man in a gas mask kicked down the door and fired around the entire cabin with a machine gun. He entered the room slowly but was struck in the neck by a tranquilizer dart and fell to the ground. Dean stood behind him with a gun pointed at him. Meanwhile, Sam entered, coughing against the gas, and went to Daniela's aid.

"I got ya," he assured. "I got ya. All right," he promised as Dean removed the mask from Ketch's face.


	14. War of the Worlds Part 2

_Lebanon, Kansas_

In the bunker's study, Ketch was tied to a chair, his face bloody and his left eye swollen shut. Angela had taken Grace to her room and stood beside Sam, watching as Dean paced around Ketch.

"One more time. How are you not dead?" Dean interrogated.

"One more time. Why should I be?" Ketch demanded.

"Because we killed you." Angela glared.

"Apparently not." Ketch sassed, earning himself a punch in the face from Dean. "Oh!" he coughed.

"Don't mess with us, okay?" Dean warned. "You already killed Mick. You tried to kill us. You messed our mom right up. We're already pissed off. So I wouldn't do that." He glared as he squeezed Ketch's hand hard enough to make a crunching noise.

"Aah!" Ketch yelled in pain.

"Oh, look at that," Dean mused. "You got rid of your tattoo. Was that a stick-on? It was a stick-on, wasn't it? Yeah."

"What?" Ketch asked dumbly. "Tattoo? I would never g—Oh." He hung his head. "I think I know what's going on here."

"Really?" Sam lifted a skeptical brow.

"You have me confused with my brother."

"Your brother?" Dean questioned.

"Arthur. I'm Alexander, his twin." Ketch lied.

Dean knelt down slightly. "Do I look stupid to you?"

"Is that a trick question?" Ketch retorted.

Dean punched Ketch in the face again and shook his hand slightly.

"Uhh! Oh!" Ketch groaned.

Dean straightened out his rumpled shirt. "Whoo!"

"So, you're seriously gonna sit there with a straight face and tell us that you have an evil twin?" Sam scoffed lightly.

"If reducing things to that black and white level helps you, fine. Arthur was the family success story." He explained. "The… headliner, our Donny Osmond."

"Mm. All right, Marie. What's your story?" Dean demanded.

"Arthur and I attended a feeder school for the British Men of Letters,"

"Kendricks," Angela folded her arms across her chest. "We know all about it. Just get to the point."

"When it came time to initiate into the organization," Ketch started. "I… fled. It wasn't for me. And if they were to find me… I'd be dead."

"It's really funny, because, you know, your name never came up," Sam noted.

"Well, no doubt. Arthur felt I brought shame to the family and to the Men of Letters." Ketch shrugged. "He had to work twice as hard to make up for my… public failure. And I had to work thrice as hard to disappear, live in the shadows. Do my work."

"What work?" Angela asked.

"Killing monsters," Ketch answered as if it were obvious. "All over the world, for a fee. A hunter."

"A mercenary." Dean corrected.

"A man with my sort of training has limited options."

"The witches—who's bankrolling their deaths?" Dean questioned.

"I-I'm doing that pro bono."

"Why do you keep asking for Rowena MacLeod?" Sam raised his brows.

"She's a witch, isn't she? Isn't that what we hunters do? Kill the bad thing?"

~/~\~

In the library, Sam found records for Alexander Ketch on his laptop while Angela sat next to him and Dean sat in an armchair with a glass of whiskey.

"So…" Sam started. "I've dug up a pretty hefty paper trail on Alexander Ketch. Birth certificate, U.S. visa and passport, academic records from Kendricks for Arthur and Alexander."

"Sam…" Dean pursed his lips.

"Dean, Angie and I went into the hard drive I took from the Brits' U.S. base," Sam argued. "There are academic initiation papers drawn up for both Ketches with Alexander's remaining incomplete."

"Okay, I don't care how good this story looks. I ain't buying it."

"All right. For argument's sake, we know Mary shot Arthur, and we know we dumped his corpse into the waste canal," Angela chimed in. "So even if this is weird, yes, it's weird, but we eat weird every day."

"Yeah, but there's 'Ripley's Believe It or Not!' weird, and then there's weird that's just straight up bull. Now I'm thinking that Ketch weird is door number two."

Sam closed the laptop and folded his hands, sighing thoughtfully.

~/~\~

Sam dragged another chair over to face Ketch and sat down across from him.

"So… even though you, your wife, and your brother all saw my brother, Arthur, shot point-blank, you still question his demise?" Ketch questioned.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "It—it's probably smart to question everything about Arthur Ketch."

"Probably, yeah. I know I'm still trying to figure him out."

"The Arthur Ketch we knew was sadistic," Sam started. "Amoral, predatory. Loyal to no one."

"You're wrong there. Not amoral, and actually, loyal to a fault." Ketch argued. "What you witnessed was an incredibly good company man. Not an easy job."

"Sounds like it would be easier to be 'Alexander' than to be Arthur, yeah?" Sam quirked a brow.

"To a degree," Ketch nodded. "No glory, yes, but no… burdens, either."

"Hmm. You admire him. Maybe, uh, wanted to be like him."

"Like you, I understand my brother's issues and why he did what he did. I suspect, if he were here, he'd… admit regret to some of the things he did to your family." Ketch replied.

~/~\~

A collection of phones charging in the bunker library, labeled FBI, CIA, etc. the FBI phone rang, and Dean answered, moving toward the table to jot down notes, while Sam and Angela sat at the table with Sam's laptop.

"Hello?" Dean answered. "Yes, this is Agent Russel. I did give you my card, yeah. Really? What kind of questions? Okay, and when was this? What did he look like? Yeah, no, we will check into it. Thank you very much."

"What was that all about?" Angela asked as Dean hung up.

"That was a manager at the Stampede Motel, place we stayed in—in Dodge City," Dean replied.

"Right." Sam nodded.

"Guess his front desk clerk went missing right after some dude showed up asking questions about Jack."

"Did you get a name?" Angela questioned.

"Nope. But… from his description? Evil Colonel Sanders." Dean replied, earning confused looks from the couple. "Asmodeus."

"Tracking Jack." Sam realized.

"Yeah, which means he's two steps behind him, which means we need to find him fast."

Ketch wandered into the library at that moment, handcuffed, but eating a sandwich. "I should say."

Dean narrowed his eyes and looked at Sam. "What the hell is this?"

"He's in chains." Sam shrugged. "There's no bathroom in the armory. And he hadn't eaten in, like, a day and a half."

"Do I look like I care?" Dean deadpanned.

"Judging by your rage," Ketch started carefully. "My brother must have behaved very badly. I understand your mother is the one who killed him?"

"And he had it coming, after what he did to her."

"Hmm. And how is she now?" Ketch inquired.

"She's good," Dean answered shortly before looking at Sam. "Would you put him back? Hmm?"

Sam cleared his throat, shut his laptop, and got up to escort Ketch out of the library. Angela dialed her phone and waited for Castiel to answer.

"Cas, any news on Jack?" she asked. "We need to find him fast."

 _"Nothing, yet."_ He answered. _"But… interesting things are happening. We…"_

"What?" Angela pressed.

 _"Yes,"_ Castiel answered, and Angela's face contorted in confusion. _"I would like to see you, too, the sooner the better."_ He added before the line went dead.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"Something didn't seem right," Angela muttered.

"I'll track his phone," Sam replied. "Let's go."

"Yes, let's." Ketch agreed.

"No." Dean glared. "No, you are not a part of 'let's'."

~/~\~

Later that night, the Impala rumbled down the highway and Sam tracked Castiel's phone.

"Man, I hate the idea of Ketch on his own in the bunker," Dean complained.

"He's locked up tight." Sam shrugged. "Not going anywhere."

"Yeah. How we looking?" Dean asked. "You still got a lock on Cas's signal?"

"Sure do. I nailed down his location." Sam confirmed. "He's not much further, so…"

"Don't worry," Angela started. "You did tell him not to do anything stupid."

Dean laughed humorlessly. "Right. When's the last time that's worked?"

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up outside of Nick's Bar. The sign out front flickered before going out completely. The Winchesters got out, leaving a sleeping Grace in the Impala, and entered the dark building with their weapons drawn.

"There's nobody here," Dean commented.

"Aah!" a demon yelled suddenly, charging at Dean.

Another demon came out of the shadows and attacked the Winchesters with their angel blades. Dean dropped his gun and pulled out his own angel blade from inside his coat. As they struggled to fight against the demons, Ketch showed up suddenly, killing the demons himself.

"H-how did you get out of the armory?" Sam stammered confusedly. "Y-y-you… chains…"

"Lock pick," Ketch answered. "If you'd done the prescribed cavity search, as you should've, you'd have found it. I, uh, grabbed some weapons from your toy box and a motorcycle from your garage, et voila. What's become of your angel?"

Dean coolly raised his gun and aimed it at Ketch. "Not sure. But I am sure about you, Arthur."

~/~\~

"You know," Dean started. "I gotta hand it to you. That paper trail you cooked up, pretty impressive. But my gut told me it was baloney. Looks like my gut was right. See, I've been in it with you, Arthur. I've seen your moves. We've gone toe-to-toe. And I saw that look in your eye when you asked about our mom. So why don't you cut the crap?"

"Actually, everything I told you is true," Ketch replied. "Well, except for the, uh, twin brother thing. I am separated from the British Men of Letters, lying low because they will kill me for desertion. I make a rather good living as a sort of soldier of fortune, deep underground, for a certain sort of clientele who appreciate my skill set. And I do use the name 'Alexander.'"

"How is it you're still alive?" Sam questioned.

"I believe you're familiar with the witch Rowena MacLeod?"

"So?" Angela scoffed.

"She was captured by the British Men of Letters some years back," Ketch recalled. "I discovered she'd sewn a powerful charm into her body that could bring her back should she be killed. I struck a deal wherein she did the same for me in return for allowing her to escape."

"So after we dumped your body, you—

"Good as new." Ketch interrupted. "Only problem is, once the device is used, it needs to be recharged."

"Which is why you're hunting for Rowena," Angela muttered. "Well, sorry. Lucifer burned her up. She's dead."

"Is she?"

"Why'd you come here? You could've run." Dean commented.

"Did it ever occur to you, Dean, that I might actually be one of the good guys?" Ketch quirked a brow.

"No." Dean answered. "Not even once."

"You and I were soldiers in opposing armies who were at war."

"Well, the thing about war is, one side wins." Dean glared icily.

Ketch pursed his lips. "I suppose you're right."

Ketch threw a flash-bang-smoke bong down and made a ran for it, barricading the door to the bar, slowing the Winchesters down long enough to make his escape on the motorcycle.

~/~\~

Angela's phone rang as Dean drove and she was quick to answer it.

 _"Hello, Angela."_ Castiel's voice rang through.

"Cas?" Angela asked. "Hey. Are you okay? We—we—tried to track you down, but you were gone. We ran into a bunch of demons. What's—what's happening?"

 _"I'm sorry,"_ he apologized. _"I'm fine. I tried to call and warn you, but couldn't get a signal."_

"Okay, well, what's going on?"

 _"I'm following a very interesting lead. I'll fill you in when I know more. See you soon, Angela."_ Castiel replied before the line went dead.


	15. The Scorpion & the Frog Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean was cleaning his gun at the kitchen table when Sam, Angela, and Grace walked in.

"I think she's clean," Sam commented.

Dean dropped the gun onto the table. "Anything on Ketch?"

"No," Angela answered. "We checked every hospital in a 50-mile radius. Nothing."

Dean sighed in frustration. "Crazy son of a bitch probably pulled the bullet out with his teeth."

"Yeah." Sam chuckled.

"What about Jack?"

"We talked to Cas. He's got nothing." Angela answered. "It's like—We gotta find something in the lore or wait for Jack to make a mistake."

"Yeah, well, the 'mistakes' are what I'm worried about," Dean replied as his phone started ringing. "Yeah?" he answered.

 _"Dean Winchester?"_ Barthamus' voice rang through.

"Who's this?" Dean demanded.

_"I have something you might be interested in."_

"No, we're happy with our cable provider. Thank you." Dean moved to hang up.

 _"What about your Nephilim?"_ Barthamus asked. _"Word on the street is he's gone rogue."_

"Yeah? What street is that?"

_"Hell Street. Hell Avenue. Just Hell, really."_

"Demon?" Sam whispered.

 _"What if I told you I had a way to find your boy?"_ Barthamus asked. _"Meet me at Smile Diner at 12:45."_

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace walked down a city street that afternoon.

"You know, this could be a trap," Angela noted with skepticism. "I mean, he could work for Asmodeus."

"Yeah, but what If he's telling the truth?" Sam countered.

"You know, after Crowley, I told myself, no more demons," Dean commented.

"Dean, we don't even know what this guy's deal is."

"Yeah, we do. He's a freakin' demon."

"Yeah, but you said it yourself, we need a miracle." Sam shrugged. "And maybe this is it."

"You know what 'miracles' are called from demons?" Dean asked. "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's not 'miracles.'"

"How about this? Let's hear the guy out."

"All right, and after that, we kill him," Dean replied as they entered the Smile Diner.

~/~\~

The hunters looked around the mostly empty diner and noticed a man sitting at a table alone. They walked over toward him and he smiled.

"The famous Winchesters."

"Some random demon." Dean sassed.

"Barthamus. Bart's fine," he introduced. "Please, sit. I ordered cherry pie."

"Yummy." Grace smiled.

"Well, Bart, don't know what you've heard about us, but—

"Everything," he cut Dean off. "I've been following your careers for a long time. You're a real pain in the pitchfork. And the halo. Natural disrupters. We have that in common, you and I."

"Mm. Yeah, we're twinsies." Dean muttered sarcastically.

"All right. You said you have something for us?" Angela lifted a brow.

Barthamus produced a parchment and slid it over to the hunters. "That is a genuine Nephilim tracking spell."

"Hmm." Sam hummed.

"Yeah, and I just won the Powerball." Dean scoffed.

"You don't believe me."

"Ya think?"

"Wait a second," Sam frowned. "Even if this is real—

"It's real," Barthamus assured.

"Why would you give it to us?" Sam questioned.

"I'm a crossroads demon, Sam. After Crowley's promotion to King of Hell, the crossroads demon." Barthamus explained. "Helping people's what I do, my raison d'etre."

"Right. Okay, look, we've been around long enough to know nothing's ever free. So, what's the catch?" Sam asked.

"You got me. I do need something in return. Call it a favor."

"Yeah, but you already gave us the spell." Dean retorted.

"Half the spell," Barthamus corrected. "That's half the spell. The other half is elsewhere. But I'll happily hand it over once we're done."

"Well, see, here's the thing," Dean leaned forward. "When a demon tells us to jump, we don't ask how high. We just ice their ass."

"How very 'Dean' of you." Barthamus chuckled. "Sam, do me a favor. You're the smart one. Look into that. I'll be in touch."

Barthamus got up and walked out of the diner. Dean proceeded to eat the pie, while Sam and Angela studied the parchment.

"Unca Dean, may I please have some pie?" Grace batted her eyelashes sweetly.

Dean looked down at his niece and sighed, always unable to say 'no' to her. "Here, Princess, we can split it."

"Thank you!" she beamed.

~/~\~

In the bunker's library, Sam and Angela were studying the parchment when Dean walked in.

"What's the verdict?"

"The spell…" Sam huffed. "I think it checks out. We put together a rough translation. Um, it's Canaanite. Dates back to the time of King Solomon, who apparently commissioned it to keep tabs on the Queen of Sheba, who, according to the lore, was half-angel."

"She was a Nephilim?" Dean sat on the edge of the table. "So, what you're saying is that King Solomon created a spell so that he could stalk his girlfriend."

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "And it looks like it works. Or it would work…"

"If we had the other half, which, without it, we got nothing," Dean replied.

"Pretty much." Angela nodded.

"Great."

Sam sighed deeply. "Look, whatever game Bart is playing, w-we don't wanna play it, but…"

"Sam, you know that these things don't usually go out way."

"It doesn't matter." Sam shrugged. "Jack is out there, in the world, and he's alone and he's scared and he's dangerous. And if this is our chance to find him… we have to take it."

"Sammy's right," Angela agreed. "This could be our only way to find him."

~/~\~

Inside an abandoned warehouse, Barthamus and two other people were waiting impatiently.

"Relax," Barthamus assured. "They'll be here." He added just as the Winchesters walked in. "Sam. Dean. Angela. Welcome."

"Who are your friends?" Dean questioned.

"I'm sorry. I should've told you. These are my associates. This young lady is Smash," he gestured to a young woman, who threw up a peace sign. "And this is Grab."

"Hiya."

"Smash and Grab? Really?" Sam chuckled.

"Not our real names," Smash muttered.

"No kidding." Dean scoffed.

"Smash can crack any safe built by man. And Grab's a demon, expert in bypassing supernatural security."

"Wait. Safecracking? What is this, a heist?" Dean rolled his eyes. "Hold up. Is this a heist?"

"His name is Luther Shrike. Lives off-grid. Paranoid, agoraphobic. You might call him a hoarder." Barthamus explained. "Has a rabid appetite for collecting rare supernatural objects, including something of mine."

"All right, so what are we talkin'? Your favorite My Little Pony?" Dean sassed.

"No. What I want is a mahogany trunk, in a safe, locked in a vault room, hidden somewhere on Shrike's farm. I want you to find my property and bring it back to me."

"What's in the safe?" Angela demanded.

"Why don't you rob him yourself?" Sam added.

"If I could, I would. Farm's warded inside and out." Barthamus informed. "Grab can locate the vault room, but the only thing that can actually open it is the blood of a man who's been to Hell and back. Tell me, Dean, do you know any men like that?"

Dean shifted uncomfortably as remembered his time in Hell and he rolled up his sleeve. "Well, here. Why don't you just take it? Then you can give us the rest of the spell."

"I'm afraid it needs to be straight from the tap. And I don't just need your blood. I need you. You see, when it comes to Shrike, there's what I know and what I don't know. Now Grab can locate the vault, Smash can crack the safe. But there will be curveballs." Barthamus explained. "And you three, well, you tend to hit those right out of the park."

"Okay, tell me," Angela started. "How does Shrike get into his vault?"

"He uses his own blood."

"So, he's been to Hell. What's he, a demon?" Dean questioned.

"Luther gets around, but he is human. Not one of the good ones. He's a sadist, a murderer who'll do anything and everything to add to his collection."

"All right, seriously, what does he have of yours?" Dean demanded.

"It's important to me. That's all you need to know."

Sam pursed his lips. "Sorry. That's not good enough."

"Put it another way… take the deal, or I give the spell to Asmodeus." Barthamus threatened. "I made a copy of your half, obviously. Did I neglect to mention that he's looking for your boy, too? But here's the thing… I don't trust him. Of course, I don't trust you either, but I trust him less, so you get dibs. For now."

The Winchesters walked upstairs so that they could discuss in private.

"All right, well, I've seen this movie a thousand times," Dean muttered. "Some asshat too fancy to get his hands dirty plans a job, swears it'll all go smooth, and it does… until bang! And everything goes screaming off the rails, and it's our asses."

"Dean…"

"You know he's gonna screw us over the first chance he gets."

"Not if we screw him first," Sam argued. "Listen, we want that spell, right? I mean, we need that spell. We definitely don't want Asmodeus getting his hands on it. So, let's do this, have him hand over the other half of the spell…"

"And then?"

"And then, like you said, we kill him." Angela shrugged.

"Okay." Dean nodded before they walked back down the stairs.

"Peace made?" Barthamus asked.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"All right, look, if we're doing this, finding the vault's gonna take time. We need a distraction, something to keep Shrike busy." Sam suggested.

"I'm all ear. See, it's kismet, us working together." Barthamus smiled. "Shrike'll never see us coming."

~/~\~

Sam drove the Impala to the gate of Luther Shrike's property. Angela sat next to him with Grace on her lap and Sam pushed the buzzer.

"It's, uh, John and Abigail Dortmunder," Sam introduced. "We… we e-mailed about our family heirloom."

Meanwhile, in the back, under a blanket, Dean and Smash were concealed from view.

"Hey, Winona," Dean whispered as he noticed her Doc Martens. "The '90s called. They'd like their shoes back."

Smash lifted a finger to her lips. "Shh."

The gate opened and Sam drove the Impala onto the property before he stopped and looked around.

"Clear." He whispered, signaling for Dean and Smash to get out of the car.

"Dean?" Angela called out.

"Yeah?"

"Don't get dead," Sam told his brother.

"You, too." Dean nodded before looking at Smash. "Let's go."

Sam drove up to the house and threw the car into park. The couple and Grace got out and approached the door. Angela rang the buzzer as Sam adjusted the box in his arms. The door opened by itself and Angela frowned.

"Creepy."

The three of them walked in and noticed of devil's trap on the floor. Sam and Angela looked around, and the house was seemingly empty.

"I'm in here," Luther called out.

Sam, Angela, and Grace walked over to a nearby room and saw Luther sitting at his desk.

~/~\~

Dean and Smash walked outside together with their flashlights. They found a nearby shed and went inside. While Dean was preparing a demon-summoning spell, Smash popped the tab of a soda can and took a drink before she burped loudly.

"Ahh."

Dean looked up at her and frowned. "You're weird. That Nerve Damage? Ha! I used to live on that crap when I was a kid. It's, like, 10 times the legal limit of caffeine, right? Didn't know they made that anymore."

"eBay," Smash replied before she reached into her bag and took out another can, offering it to Dean.

Dean took the can and popped the tab, taking a long sip. He smiled at the can fondly. "Wow. So… Safecracking?"

"So… hunting." Smash retorted.

"You know, I probably don't have to tell you this, but working for demons is not a smart idea."

"You're working for demons." She reminded.

"Yeah, well, I don't really have a choice."

"Same."

"You get in some kind of trouble or somethin'?" Dean inquired.

"How long does a demon-summoning spell take?" Smash demanded impatiently.

Dean rolled his eyes as he finished the spell and lit it up.

"Cool." Grab commented as he appeared.

"All right," Dean stood up. "So where's this vault room?"

"Don't know." Grab shrugged.

"Y—

"It's hidden under a cloaking spell," he clarified.

"Awesome." Dean deadpanned.

"Don't worry, Chief. I got this. Or should I say…" Grab clicked his tongue. "You got this."

"Me?"

"Your blood, it's like a dowsing rod. The vault wants it. You have it. Like attracts like, comprende?"

"Wait, so you're saying that I'm some sort of vault compass?"

Grab smirked at Smash. "Oh. You said he was just a pretty face."

"Shh!" she hushed.

"Okay, what now?" Dean asked.

"This. Sanguis infernus, anima nunc. Viam manifesta. Sanguis inferne, viam ostende." Grab chanted.

Dean grunted and lost control of his arm as it became the compass and started spinning him around until he was pointing in the right direction. "Ah! Dude! What! Awesome."

"I guess we gotta go that way," Grab shrugged.

~/~\~

Luther poured two drinks and handed one to Sam. "Homemade gin. It'll blow your whistle."

"Homemade?" Sam asked.

"I don't get out much."

"Mm. Um," he took a sip and cleared his throat. "I gotta say, you have a very impressive collection."

"Ever seen a 'fang of the Basilisk?'" Luther quirked a brow.

Sam picked up the object and looked at it carefully. "Actually, that's not, um… So, whoever sold this to you had it wrong. Uh, basilisk fangs are hollow. This is actually a Gorgon tooth. It's still really cool, though."

"You know," Angela started. "We would love to see more of your collection."

"Let's stick to business," Luther replied. "What you got?"

"Of course. Um, okay. So, what we brought today is very special. It's very rare. It's one-of-a-kind." Sam opened the box to reveal Ruby's knife. "A knife that can kill demons."


	16. The Scorpion & the Frog Part 2

Dean, Smash, and Grab were still wandering around the grounds, following where Dean's arm was pointing.

"I hate this," Dean complained. "I hate this! I hate you!"

"No one cares." Grab rolled his eyes.

"How much longer?"

"Takes as long as it takes." Grab shrugged.

"Okay, well, if something happens to my brother, sister-in-law, and my niece while we're out here dealing with this crap—

"Hey, a little respect?" Grab interrupted. "It took years to perfect that spell. If they're too stupid to do their part, then that's on them."

"What'd you say?" Dean glared before he was pulled off balance. "Son of a bitch."

The group continued walking until they found a cellar door.

"Oh, no lock. Well, that's never a good sign." Dean muttered as Smash opened the doors.

"Vault's gotta be down there." She commented as Dean looked at Grab.

"Oh, I'm not going down there. I've already done my bit. This is on you, hand puppet."

"I will kill you," Dean promised.

"I bet you say that to all the girls." Grab grinned.

Dean and Smash walked down the stairs into a small room that was sparsely furnished.

"All right. This is the vault room. Where's the safe?"

"Behind that door." Smash nodded.

"And I'm supposed to use my blood how?"

"I think you're supposed to put your paw in there." Smash indicated to a statue of a hog's mouth in the center of the door.

"What, are you kidding me?" Dena complained.

~/~\~

"So, what's your price?" Luther asked.

"Uh, you know, what we agreed to in the e-mail is… is fine." Sam smiled weakly.

"Of course," Luther reached into a drawer and pulled out a wad of cash. "But, uh, we all know you're not really here for this."

"Sorry?" Angela frowned. "I… I don't understand."

Luther grabbed the demon knife and approached the couple, who stood in front of Grace. "Bart sent you."

"Huh?" Sam's brows furrowed.

"You're here to rob me, right?"

"No, no, no." Angela shook her head. "You got it wrong."

"I don't think so, demon." Luther sneered.

He lunged at Sam and Angela, and while Sam managed to disarm him, Luther punched Sam and pushed him across the room. Angela took Grace and ran over to Sam while Luther grabbed a shotgun and began to load it.

"You're the distraction, right?" Luther questioned. "Got your friends out there, stripping me blind as we speak."

Luther fired and Sam and Angela dove out of the way, taking Grace with them. While Luther was re-loading, Sam noticed the demon knife on the ground and grabbed it. He rushed to stab Luther but frowned when he had no reaction.

"Bart didn't tell you?" Luther smirked. "As long as I'm on my property, I can't die."

Luther hit Sam across the head with the Gorgon tooth rock, knocking him out.

~/~\~

Dean was trying to muster up the courage to put his hand into the hog's mouth. He turned to look at Smash. "I mean, there could be anything in there. Anything, right? There could be spiders. There could be the spiny blade thing… Snakes. Spiders. You don't even know, do you? All right."

Dean looked back at the door and took a deep breath.

"I… how about this? What if I cut myself, put it on, like, a little piece of paper? We'll just wad it up and throw it in the mouth, okay?" Dean asked as Smash shoved him towards the door. "Okay. Yeah. Going in. Do it." He put his hand in and exhaled sharply. "Oh. Eh."

Suddenly, the contraption whirred and clanked into action. Dean gasped as the machine clasped his hand.

"Gah! Aah! Ah!"

The machine held Dean's hand in place, while a needle pricked his finger. Dean let out a high-pitched scream, as his spot of blood set the spell in motion.

"Huh! It got me! It…"

His hand was released and he looked at the tip of his finger, where there was a tiny speck of blood. Smash rolled her eyes as the door opened.

"You gonna live?" she mocked.

"Ow," Dean mumbled.

Smash stepped into the room and there was a click and a wooshing sound. Dean grabbed Smash and pulled her back, just as a dart flew by and hit the wall.

"What the hell was that?"

"The curveball," Dean answered.

~/~\~

"Did Bart mention anything to you about this?" Dean questioned.

"No."

"Super," Dean muttered sarcastically. "There was supposed to be a safe, not some Dollar Store Indiana Jones crap!"

"Dean." Smash cleared her throat.

"What?" he turned to see Luther in the room with them. "Son of a bitch."

Smash ran at Luther, kicked him in the groin, and dashed outside, leaving Dean behind.

"Awesome." Dean rolled his eyes in annoyance. "My family, where are they?"

"Alive, as far as I left them," Luther answered. "Thought they were demons. Guess Bart's got humans doing his dirty work now."

"Mm." Dean cocked his gun. "Well, looks like gun beats knife, so how about you hand over the safe, and then we'll all be home in time to watch Game of Thrones."

"I'm more of a book guy."

Dean fired at Luther, but he just kept marching towards Dean.

"Dean! He's immortal!" Angela warned.

Luther turned around to see Sam, Angela, and Grace, which gave Dean the opportunity to punch him square in the face.

"Well, good thing he's got a glass jaw." Dean shrugged.

~/~\~

Luther woke up, tied to a pole.

"All right, jackass, this is how it's gonna go," Dean started. "You can tell us how to get past your little booby trap in here, and then you're safe, all right?"

Luther chuckled darkly. "Sorry, son. That riddle in there? You'll never crack it. And if you try, you'll find yourself on the business end of a thousand tiny darts, each tipped with silver and filled with arsenic, holy water, and holy oil. I wish you good fortune!"

"And I wish you'd shut up," Dean muttered as he put duct tape across Luther's mouth.

~/~\~

"All right, so what are we looking at here?" Dean asked. "Some sort of ancient hoodoo disco floor?"

"No, I… I think it's like a… like a giant keypad," Sam replied. "Like we have to walk over the tiles in a very specific order… an order which only Shrike knows."

"Yeah, well, Shrike's not talking, so I guess we wing it," Dean suggested.

"Wing it?" Sam scoffed. "Dean, these… these aren't like the lasers in Entrapment. There are infinite possible combinations and pressure-released darts."

"Did you just say 'Entrapment?'" Angela lifted a brow.

"I don't know," Sam shrugged. "I mean, I don't… I don't watch a whole lot of those kinds of movies."

"Yeah, but you saw Entrapment?" Dean asked.

Sam paused for a moment. "Catherine Zeta-Jones."

Dean and Angela looked at Sam for a few moments while Sam looked from Luther to the room.

"I think I just…" Sam murmured. "Yeah. I just got an idea, but it's a little crazy."

"We're good with crazy," Angela replied.

~/~\~

A short time later, Luther was trussed up, sitting on a wheeled trolley.

"I told you, you'd help," Dean told Luther before looking at Sam. "Ready?"

"On three. One, two…"

Sam and Dean pushed the trolley and rolled into the room across the booby-trapped floor. Darts whooshed across the room, hitting Luther all over his body.

"That was awesome!" Dean marveled.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace walked into the room and looked at the safe.

"All right, Shrike's all tied back up. Man, is he pissed."

Angela chuckled. "Yeah, wouldn't you be?"

"How we lookin'? Can you open it?" Dean asked Sam.

Sam scoffed incredulously. "Dean, I bet no one's seen a safe life that in over a hundred years."

"I have," Smash said from behind them.

Dean turned around and raised his brows. "Oh. Look who decided to show. Why'd you cottontail?"

"You think I wanna be here? Like I have a choice?"

"You made a deal." Angela realized.

"Wow! You think?" Smash's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"You sold your soul," Sam replied.

"And if I could take it back, I would. But sorry, Charlie. I can't. So here I am." Smash shrugged. "And as long as I keep working for him, Bart never collects. So, you gonna let me do my thing or what?"

"Look, it doesn't have to be that way."

"You know, we could help you." Dean offered.

"No, you can't. I gotta take care of me." Smash walked up to the safe and used a stethoscope to listen to the clicking of the dial.

"How long does this usually—

"Shh!" Smashed glared at Dean before she exhaled deeply and opened the safe. "Ta-da! Let's go?!"

"Yeah."

Sam and Dean grabbed the trunk from the safe and headed back into the other room, where Luther had now disappeared.

"Oh, great." Angela huffed,

"Who cares? Let's blow this pop stand." Dean urged.

~/~\~

They loaded the trunk into the Impala and sped off. Suddenly, the road was blocked by a red pickup truck, with Luther in the driver's seat.

"Does this guy ever stop?" Dean asked as he rapidly put the Impala in reverse. "You wanna handle this?!" he snapped at Sam.

"On it!" the younger Winchester cocked his gun.

Dean spun the Impala so Sam had a clean shot. He shot the tires out on Luther's car, and both cars screeched to a stop. Sam, Dean, and Angela got out of the car and Sam opened Luther's door.

"Get out of the truck! Don't try anything funny," Sam warned. "Get out!"

"It make you feel good, whoring yourselves out to pure evil?" Luther demanded. "Because that's what he is. What he did to me, my little boy…"

"What are you talking about?" Angela questioned.

"My son. He was sick, dying. So I found Bart and I traded my life for his." Luther explained sadly. "My boy got better, but then a few years later, he died anyway. He drowned. You know what Bart told me then? He said, 'Accidents happen,' that he 'couldn't be held responsible.'"

"So, what did you do?" Sam's brows furrowed.

"When the hounds came and dragged me to Hell, I negotiated a new deal."

"How?" Angela frowned.

"Leverage."

"What kind of leverage?" Dean pressed.

"Look in the trunk."

Sam took the box out of the car and Luther handed him the key. Sam opened it to reveal human remains.

"Bart's bones. You burn them, he dies." Luther told them. "That's my leverage. You're on the wrong side of this. You gotta ask yourselves if you can live with that."

Suddenly, Luther was decapitated, and Bart stood behind him.

"Luther," he smirked. "You never should've left the house."

~/~\~

"Trust me, he had it coming." Bart defended.

"You let his son die," Dean argued.

"Well, he didn't read the fine print, and I am a businessman. Speaking of which, Alice. Little something for a job well done." Bart held out a roll of cash. "Don't be shy. Come on. Yeah. And for you three…" he took out a piece of parchment. "The spell. You earned it."

"Sam, Angie?"

"No." Angela glared at Bart.

"Let me see if I understand," he started. "You three do-gooding idiots are willing to welch on our deal, throw away the only chance you have at finding your boy, because I killed a 200-year-old blackmailing piece of garbage? Is that it?"

"Yeah, that, and we just don't like you." Dean retorted.

"Huh. Time to re-open negotiations, shall we?" Bart grabbed Smash, holding her by the neck. "Give me my bones and the girl lives. Or try to burn them, and the moment before I die, I'll snap her neck like kindling. It's amazing what I can do in a half-second's time."

"Please." Smash cried softly.

"Okay." Dean conceded.

"Slide it out, please."

Sam and Dean pushed the trunk towards Bart.

"My dear. You're all right." Bart told Smash before pointing towards the box. "Would you mind?" he asked as he looked at the hunters. "You could've had this," he waved the spell. "It was almost all yours. But no, you just couldn't make it easy, could you."

"I'm sorry," Smash's voice broke as she looked at the hunters.

"It's all right," Dean assured. "You gotta take care of you."

"Right? Sweet, really." Bart cooed condescendingly.

"Take care of yourself." Dean glanced down at the box, and then at Smash.

She noticed that Dean had put a lighter on top of Bart's bones.

"Alice, chop-chop!" Bart rushed.

"Yeah." Smash nodded as she grabbed the lighter and set Bart's bones alight.

Bart screamed as he burst into flames, still holding the parchment.

"Sammy, the spell! The spell!" Angela exclaimed.

Sam ran to try and grab the now burning parchment. He tried blowing out the flames, but that only fanned them, and the parchment burnt to a crisp.

~/~\~

"Thanks for the ride," Smash told the hunters as they walked towards the bus.

"You gonna be okay, hon?" Angela asked.

"Yeah," Smash smiled genuinely. "I'm gonna be good. Hey, I just wanted to say I'm sorry." She sobered up. "What you did for me, you didn't have to do that. Thank you, seriously. See ya around."

"Hey Alice," Dean stopped her. "Stay weird."

Smash poked her tongue out and smiled before she got on the bus.

"Yeah." Dean nodded as a smile crossed his lips.

~/~\~

Later that night at the bunker, Dean opened a couple of beers.

"You guys okay?" Dean joined the couple at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, not really," Sam admitted. "Not exactly the best day, you know?"

"Well, it's not the worst. We did save somebody. That felt good."

"Yeah." Angela agreed. "Yeah, it did. But… back to square one with Jack."

"We'll figure something else out, kiddo," Dean assured. "And if that doesn't work, then we'll move on to the next, and then whatever's after that. We just keep working, 'cause it's what we do."

Angela smiled softly. "It feels really good to hear you talk like that again."

"I'll drink to that." Dean clinked his beer to her glass of water.


	17. The Bad Place Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean descended the stairs, carrying a paper bag. He walked down the corridor with his phone pressed to his ear, having reached Patience's voicemail.

 _"Hi, you've reached Patience Turner. Please leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."_ Her voicemail played.

Dean sat down at the table where Sam and Angela sat, working on Sam's laptop.

"Patience, hey," Dean started. "This is, uh, Dean Winchester. Listen, I know that I, uh, told you to avoid this life, but, uh… me and my family, we're—we're looking for someone. And we put an APB out with every hunter we know, and… nothing. We really could use a psychic's help on this. So… if you could call me back. Thanks." He hung up and looked at Sam and Angela. "Any word from Cas?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Uh, he says he's still looking for Jack, working a lead in Tucson."

As Sam spoke, Angela's phone started ringing and she put it on speaker.

"Hi, Jody." She and Sam greeted simultaneously.

"Hi, Jody! What's going on?" Dean asked.

 _"Hey guys,"_ she started. _"I got something for ya. Friend of mine from Bismarck PD called with a lead. He said that a local artist was found dead with his eyes burned out."_

Sam startled while Dean was digging into his bag.

"Sounds angel-y," Dean noted.

 _"Yeah, that's what I thought,"_ Jody agreed. _"Except for that there was a witness—the victim's girlfriend. She pegged someone at the scene. She gave the police a description. I think it's your boy."_

~/~\~

_Bismarck, North Dakota_

Derek's girlfriend walked around his studio holding Jack's photograph, while the Winchesters interviewed her. Grace stood next to Sam, holding his hand.

"That's him," Paula nodded. "He said his name was Jack, that he was a buyer."

"Um… a buyer?" Angela asked and Paula pointed at numerous paintings around the studio. "Ah."

"Some freaky stuff here," Dean commented. "Derek had quite the imagination."

"He hated that word," Paula whispered.

"What, freaky?" Sam asked.

"Imagination," she corrected. "He liked to think of his art more as reportage."

"Reportage?" Angela lifted a brow. "Reportage from where?"

Meanwhile, Dean kept walking around the studio. He stopped near a particular painting that was partially hidden behind a stack of other canvases.

"Derek was a dream walker," Paula explained.

"Sam?" Dean called out.

Sam and Angela turned around as Dean revealed one of Derek's paintings, depicting the landscape from the Apocalypse World.

~/~\~

The Impala was parked outside of Derek's studio. In the front seat, Sam and Angela were going through John Winchester's journal while Grace sat in the backseat playing with her dolls. Dean walked towards the car with a tray of coffee in hand. He slid into the front seat and offered Sam and Angela a cup of coffee.

"Hey. Thanks." Sam took his cup gratefully.

"Yeah."

"So, the lore on dream walking is pretty inconsistent," Sam started. "Uh, there are stories about it across numerous Native Amer—

"Guys, are we gonna talk about it?" Dean interrupted.

"What?" Angela's brows creased.

"You both saw that painting."

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"Gracie, earmuffs," Dean told his niece and she held her hands over her ears. "Well, it looks like Jack gave up on us and he's looking for daddy."

"Dean, we don't know that," Angela argued, not wanting to believe that Jack could be going dark side.

"Don't we?" Dean raised his brows. "A guy is dead. Look, I hate this too, but we've gotta be prepared."

"To kill him," Sam muttered.

"Look, this isn't an 'I told you so.' Okay? I mean… I actually like the kid." Dean admitted. "I do. But we're in worst-case scenario land here."

"Yeah, but Dean we need more information. I mean," Sam sighed. "We gotta figure out what Jack wanted, how—how dream-walking even works."

"Okay, well, then let's go to a reservation. Let's talk to a—a chief or a tribal leader."

"Or, we talk to a dream walker," Sam handed Dean his iPad. "I hacked into Derek's email. He's been corresponding with another dream walker for months, a girl named Kaia Nieves. He had been trying to coach her, to teach her to control her power."

"Alright. Where is she?" Dean asked.

~/~\~

_Mankato, Minnesota_

The Impala pulled up to the group therapy center and the Winchesters got out of the car.

"So… Kaia never knew her father," Angela started. "Her mom died in an accident when she was 12, so her aunt took her in, and then she died—cancer."

"Damn," Dean muttered.

"Yeah, been on her own ever since," Sam added. "Until her OD and arrest."

"Bad hand."

"Yeah." Sam agreed.

"No wonder she ended up here," Dean replied.

~/~\~

Jack grabbed Kaia's arm just as she turned to walk away and said in a forceful tone, "You will help me."

Suddenly, the door that Jack had broken slammed open and the Winchesters walked out.

"Jack!" Angela called out.

"Angie?" Jack turned around, his brows furrowed.

With Jack distracted, Kaia kicked him to the ground and he let go of her arm. She then proceeded to punch him in the jaw and sprinted away. Jack grunted in pain and stood up, a baffled look on his face.

"She hit me."

"Yeah, good." Dean snapped.

"No! She's getting away. I—she can't—

Sam and Dean grabbed Jack from both sides, and the boy tried to break free so that he could chase after Kaia.

"No, no, no, no, no. He, we're not letting you near her until you tell us what's going on." Dean demanded.

"No, I need her," Jack stressed.

"You need her like you needed Derek?" Angela asked warily.

"Yes." Jack nodded.

The brothers let go of Jack and the three hunters exchanged worried glances.

"You don't…" Jack frowned. "I'm—I'm doing this for you."

"Oh, you killed Derek for us?" Dean scoffed.

Jack became even more confused at Dean's question. "Derek's dead?"

"Wait, hold on a second," Angela cut in. "Jack, honey, tell us what happened. Everything."

"I left to try and get a grip on my powers. I wanted to prove to you that I'm good, to do one good thing. So I did the thing you wanted the most. I experimented with opening doors to other worlds. I could almost do it." Jack explained. "I could get right to the edge. But I couldn't see. I could only feel around in the dark. I needed eyes. A seer."

"A dream walker." Sam realized.

"Yeah." Jack nodded. "So I researched, like you taught me. That's how I found Derek. I didn't know if it would work, but it did. He dream-walked and I joined him… in the Apocalypse world. I could see what he saw. And I saw…And I saw them."

"Them?" Sam raised his brows.

"Your mother and your father," Jack answered, stunning the hunters into silence. "They're alive."

Tears filled Angela's eyes and she grabbed Sam's hand.

"What?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"But they're in danger," Jack stressed.

"W-what does that mean?" Angela stammered. "What—what kind of danger?"

"It's easier if I show you."

Jack held his hands out, offering to show them what he's seen with his powers. Dean leaned away, wary of what Jack intended to do to them.

"Wh—

"Dean?" Sam asked.

Jack placed his hands on Sam and Dean's temples. Jack's eyes glowed yellow, as did the Winchesters'. They saw visions of Mary and Robert trapped and groaning in pain. Jack released them and their eyes returned to normal.

"Mom." Dean breathed out.

"Dad," Angela sobbed.

"I was so close to them," Jack started. "I could've touched them. But, Derek wasn't strong enough to hold the connection."

"Wait," Angela's forehead creased. "You didn't burn him out?"

"No, I stopped," Jack answered honestly. "Derek, he wasn't strong enough, but he knew someone who was. Kaia, she's the key."


	18. The Bad Place Part 2

The Impala sped down the dark road and Grace slept in the back seat with Jack.

"Yep, all right," Sam said on the phone. "Thank you." He hung up. "Cops are looking for Kaia, too. We gotta find her fast."

"You and Angie were right," Dean muttered. "About Mom and Robert. You guys were right. This whole time, we should've been looking for them."

"Dean, we were just hoping," Sam replied. "We didn't know. Anyways, it doesn't matter. Now that we do know—

"We find them, no matter what it takes," Dean stressed.

"Yep." Sam and Angela nodded.

"Kid, you okay?" Dean glanced back at Jack, who remained silent.

"Jack? Honey?" Angela asked.

"You thought… You all thought that I could do that, that I could kill Derek." He whispered.

"Jack, we, um… We didn't know what happened." Sam admitted. "We figured, m-maybe it was an accident or—or…"

"Like the security guard."

"Yes. Exactly. Like that." Sam nodded. "Jack, we were worried, okay? You know, when you disappeared, you were in a dark place. And we didn't know where you were going and…"

"Thought you were looking for your dad." Dean finished bluntly.

Jack's brows furrowed in confusion. "You mean Lucifer?"

"Mm."

"Yeah." Angela nodded.

"I was scared. I was upset. But… why would I look for him?" Jack asked. "He's no one to me. You, Castiel—you're my family."

"Yes, we are." Dean agreed. "Finding Mom and Robert, you… You did a good thing, kid. You did a real good thing."

Suddenly, a high-pitched ringing left Jack groaning his pain and clutching his head. Dean slammed on the breaks and the Impala screeched to a halt.

"Ah!"

"Jack? Are you okay?" Angela asked worriedly.

"That… it was angel radio," Jack muttered. "They've got Kaia."

~/~\~

Inside of an abandoned warehouse, a female angel had Kaia restrained to a chair.

"Your plan? It sucks." Kaia scoffed. "They won't come for me."

"What do you mean?" the angel questioned.

"I mean, you picked the wrong bait. I'm not the kind of girl folks come for. In this world, I don't even rank a milk carton." Kaia explained. "No one is gonna come for me. I'm not white, rich, blonde. No one's gonna fight for me. I don't matter."

"Of course you don't matter," the angel agreed. "But they think you do. They'll show. And when they do, we'll kill them and take the boy."

"That so?" Dean asked suddenly.

He entered the warehouse, shoving a male angel in front of him while holding an angel blade to his throat. Sam, Angela, and Jack followed behind while Grace stayed in the car asleep.

"You know, the girl's right. Your plan does kind of suck." Dean commented.

"Give us the girl," Angela demanded firmly.

"She's not what we want," the female angel replied. "Jack, I don't wanna hurt you. I wanna help you. You should be among your own kind."

"My kind?" Jack asked incredulously. "The kind that kills people? That kidnaps people?"

"You don't belong with them. Come with us. Come home."

Jack glanced around at Sam, Dean, and Angela. "I am home."

The male angel grabbed Dean's wrist and headbutted him. The female angel dropped her blade into her hand, but Jack's eyes glowed yellow and he held the angel with his power, levitating her and throwing her across the warehouse, through a window and a wall as Kaia watched on, stunned. Sam clambered to retrieve Dean's dropped angel blade, but the male angel reached it first and punched Sam backward across the floor. The male angel was inches away from stabbing Dean in the chest when Jack froze him with his power, forcing the angel's hand to turn do he was pointing his blade at his own chest. The moment Jack released him, the angel stabbed himself and fell to the ground. Angela helped Sam and Dean to their feet.

"I got her." Dean picked up his angel blade and ran after the female angel.

Meanwhile, Sam, Angela, and Jack rushed to assist Kaia.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked in concern.

"No! What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed.

"They were angels. Bad angels."

"Angels?" Kaia's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes, and we're hunters," Angela replied. "We kill things like them."

"Right. And he's the Son of Satan?" Kaia nodded to Jack.

"I am. Yes."

"You're insane."

"Yeah, the whole world's insane. You get used to it." Dean replied as he returned. "She took off. She might be back, she might not."

"Yeah, we should move," Sam muttered.

~/~\~

A train whistled blew in the distance as they exited the warehouse.

"We'll protect you," Jack promised.

"I don't think so." Kaia scoffed.

"Wait. Hey, hey." Sam stopped. "Kaia, look, I'm sure this is a lot. But…" he sighed. "Look, we need you. Okay? My brother and I, our—mother and my wife's father, they're trapped in—in another world, and—and if you can tell Jack where it is, then he can open a door—

"And we can save them," Dean finished. "So, what's the play?"

"Derek said there are sacred sites, places where the walls between worlds are thin, where it's easy to cross over," Jack explained. "I was taking Kaia to the Wind Caves."

"The Wind Caves?" Kaia frowned.

"Let's roll." Dean nodded.

"No." Kaia replied firmly.

"We just saved your life in there." Dean reminded.

"Thanks, but they only wanted me because of you." Kaia retorted.

"Kaia, we need you to dream walk for us, to use your gift." Jack pleaded.

"It's not a gift. It's a curse. When Derek walked, he was free. He could go see beautiful things, to worlds that were paradises. I wish it was like that for me, but it's not. I could only go to one place—the Bad Place. It's just… blood and death and monsters."

"Well, it sounds like a lifetime of bad dreams, but—

"Bad dreams?" Kaia pulled up her sleeve to reveal several long scars. "When I get hurt over there, I don't wake up sweaty. I wake up bloody. This scar, it's not the only one. I'm sorry about your parents, but I can't help you."

"All right, fine." Angela nodded. "Um… we can find another way. We, um…"

Dean pulled out his gun and cocked it, frightening Kaia. "Get in the car."

"Dean." Sam frowned at his brother. "Dean."

"Get in the car." He repeated firmly before he raised his gun, advancing on Kaia. "Get in the damn car!" he boomed. "We're going to South Dakota."

~/~\~

The Impala sped down the dark road, and Kaia remained withdrawn and terrified in the back seat beside Jack and Grace.

"So now what?" Angela asked in a hushed tone. "We get Kaia to the Wind Caves, and then what? Force her to dream walk at gunpoint?"

"We get Mom and Robert back, no matter what." Dean reminded firmly. "Remember?"

Meanwhile, in the back seat, Jack was attempting to comfort Kaia.

"I'm sorry… about all of this." He apologized sincerely. "I was like you, Kaia, afraid of my powers. But it doesn't have to be like that. You said that you wished that things could have been different, and that's why you reached out to Derek. Derek thought that you could help me, and I could help you."

"Why do you keep saying his name?" Kaia asked venomously. "Derek's dead because of you."

"Five seconds," Jack replied.

Kaia's brows creased together. "What?"

"Give me five seconds to show you what Derek saw, what I saw with him. It wasn't just the Bad Place. It was… everything. It's… amazing."

"Five seconds." Kaia echoed.

Jack touched his fingers to Kaia's temple and her eyes glowed gold as a look of wonder crossed her face at the vision Jack implanted in her mind.

"Our powers can be good," he stressed. "We can do good in this world."

Suddenly, a car without headlights approached head-on, on the wrong side of the road. Dean squinted into the dark to see it when the headlights came on, blinding them. Dean swerved to avoid a collision and ended up turned around on the road. The other car turned back toward them.

"Oh, crap," Dean muttered.

Dean steered the Impala down the side road into the Larsen Bros Shipyard. They pulled to a stop beside a huge rusted out ship and got out of the Impala. Dean grabbed a bag of gear and weapons from the trunk and tossed it to Sam while Angela took Grace out of her car seat.

"Okay, let's go," Sam ordered. "Let's go! Out, out, out, out. Jack, come on."

"Hey! Get 'em in the boat." Dean commanded.

"Aah!" Jack hunched over in pain at the assault of angel radio.

"Come on!" Angela exclaimed. "Go, go, go! Come on! Go!"

Sam, Angela, Grace, Jack, and Kaia raced up the gangway and into the ship, while Dean readied himself by the Impala to face down the female angel, who pulled up a moment later and get out of her car.

"Need that boy, Dean Winchester." She glared. "Heaven's running out of angels. Only he can save us."

"As far as I'm concerned, you dicks can fry." Dean retorted.

"Yes, well, you first."

Two additional cars full of angels pulled up, and Dean took off running towards the boat.

~/~\~

Inside the rusting hull of the old ship, Kaia stood at a loss while Sam and Angela painted warding sigils on the walls.

"What's happening?" Kaia questioned.

"Don't worry," Jack assured. "We'll be fine."

"We're screwed," Dean entered the room. "There's too damn many of 'em! We gotta go up. Let's go!"

Dean led them all up a flight of stairs, while outside, six angels calmly walked down the gangplank toward the ship. Inside, Sam stopped to spray paint additional warding sigils.

"How long will this warding hold?" Dean asked.

"I don't know," Sam admitted.

Sam finished the sigil and they ran up another flight of stairs. Sam, Angela, Dean, Grace, Kaia, and Jack reached the end of the line and Sam painted more warding on the doors.

"Hey, maybe if we let 'em in and then we blast them all away," Sam suggested.

"No," Dean shook his head. "They get in here, we're dead. Jack, can you do anything?"

"I can try," he answered. "But they'll hit me with angel radio again."

Outside, the angels coordinated their power, slamming their hands to the ground and releasing a shock wave that blasted away at the warding sigils, shaking the entire ship.

"Okay, all right, so then we go out guns blazing," Dean muttered. "We take out as many as we can. Kid," he looked at Kaia. "Sorry to drag you into this. This was not your fight."

Outside, the angels repeated their assault on the sigils, and the boat shook again.

"If they get up here, they'll kill you all and take me," Jack commented.

"No, they won't," Kaia replied. "You said I could help you find the door to another world, right?"

"Yes." Jack nodded as the angels attacked again.

"Let's do it. Let's get out of here."

"Hey, can you take us to our parents?" Angela asked as the boat shook and she held Grace tighter.

"Mommy, I'm scared." Grace whimpered.

"I know, baby. I got you." Angela whispered.

"Can you do it?!" Dean demanded.

"I don't know. I think so." Jack replied.

"What if something goes wrong?" Sam asked.

"Something already is going wrong!" Dean yelled. "Jack, do it!"

Jack stood behind Kaia as the boat shook again. "Are you ready?"

"No," she breathed deeply. "Let's go."

The angels continued to attack and the ship rattled and shook continuously. Jack placed his fingertips on Kaia's temples and her eyes glowed.

"Okay, I'm there. I'm in the Bad Place."

The forest floor was littered with bones, and a huge monstrous skull. The angels continued to attack outside, but Jack and Kaia tried to remain focused.

"Let's go." Jack pushed.

"I can't," she replied.

"Yes. You can."

Kaia was able to let go and Jack zoomed out of the Bad Place to reveal a veritable galaxy of alternate universes. He looked through them and managed to find the Apocalypse World.

"There."

"Dean, you gotta see this," Sam called out as the warding was almost breached. "Come here!"

"Jack, now!" Dean yelled.

"I see them." Jack breathed out when he saw Mary and Robert trapped.

"All right, they're almost through," Angela warned.

Thunder clapped in Kaia's vision and it snapped her back to the Bad Place.

"No!" Jack gasped. "Focus."

Her vision switched back to Mary and Robert, then to the monstrous skull, where someone carrying a spear crossed in front of it.

"I'm losing it!" Kaia cried.

"Almost. Almost!"

Kaia's vision switched from the Apocalypse World and the Bad Place several times before she screamed, amplified by Jack's power flowing through her. Outside, the six angels were blown to dust and the room was filled with a blinding light, tearing open a glowing portal. Aside from the portal, the room was now empty and silent.

~/~\~

In the Bad Place, Dean groggily woke up and got to his feet, his angel blade clutched in his hand.

"Guys?" Sam asked.

"Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah." Sam grunted.

"Hey."

"We're good," Angela assured. "Gracie, honey, come here."

"Mommy where are we?" Grace looked around.

"That's a good question," Angela muttered as she picked Grace up.

"Come on." Dean urged.

The hunters walked through the forest, then jumped down into a ditch.

"Where the hell are we?" Dean muttered.

As the Winchesters looked around, they climbed out the other side of the ditch and walked away. In the distance, a creature roared and heavy footsteps approached.


	19. Wayward Sisters

_The Bad Place_

Sam, Dean, and Angela were standing in a depression that appeared to be a giant talon print. Angela held Grace tightly.

"Where the hell are we?" Dean asked as he looked around.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace were sitting by a fire, roasting lizards. Dean picked off a piece of flesh, appraised, and ate it. He looked at Sam and Angela, who looked disgusted.

"No, no, no, don't tell us it tastes like chicken," Angela warned.

"No, Angie, it's a _lizard._ It tastes like a lizard." Dean deadpanned.

"You know, we really gotta get moving," Sam cut in. "Keep looking for that door."

"Yeah, if there is a door," Dean muttered.

"Well last time we opened one, it stayed open." Sam shrugged.

"Yeah, for a few hours." Dean reminded. "We've been here for what, two days, and change? I mean look, man, I hope you're right, I really do, but if you're not and we're stuck here in this freaking monster land? I mean, nobody back home even knows where to start looking for us."

"So what are you saying?" Angela asked.

"I'm saying, eat up." Dean waved his stick with the lizard on it.

Sam and Angela made a face. In the distance, the sound of something growling and stomping could be heard.

"That sound closer to you?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "What do you think it is?"

"Let's not find out," Dean muttered.

Dean stuck the skewer with meat into the ground and they all got up. Sam lifted Grace and jogged away with Angela while Dean hurried back and retrieved the stick with the meat, eating it as he followed Sam and Angela. The sounds of footsteps were louder and a cloaked and hooded figure wielding a spear watched the hunters walk away.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace were walking through the forest and Grace held Sam's hand.

"Look Dean, I don't think this is just a different world," Sam started. "I think it's a different universe."

"Yeah well, this universe sucks." Dean scoffed.

"Yeah," Angela agreed.

They stopped for a moment as Dean tried to remove something stuck to his boot. The three of them straightened up when they heard a noise.

"What was that?" Angela frowned.

The cloaked figure came up behind the hunters and attacked them viciously with their spear. Grace screamed in fear as the cloaked figure knocked the hunters out.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace were tied to the trees.

"Sam, Sammy! Angie!" Dean hissed. "Hey!"

"What happened?" Sam mumbled groggily.

"Gracie, honey, are you okay?" Angela asked worriedly.

"I'm scared, Mommy." Grace sniffled. "I wanna go home."

"I know, sweet girl." Angela murmured. "We'll get home, I promise."

Suddenly, the cloaked figure appeared in the line of sight and stood next to the giant skull.

"Hey, yo! Darth Dickwad!" Dean yelled.

The figure used its spear to bank on the skull thrice and then walked away silently.

"The hell?" Dean's brows furrowed.

"What was that all about?" Sam questioned.

They heard the ominous growling again and Dean looked around, noticing the skeletons of many animals scattered around them.

"I think it just rang the dinner bell," Dean commented.

~/~\~

Dean was struggling against his bonds as the growling grew closer. "Ugh, dammit!"

"Dean, you hear that?" Angela asked.

Suddenly, Claire cut through Dean's bonds and appeared in his line of sight. Kaia did the same for Sam, Angela, and Grace.

"Claire?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Hey." Claire smiled.

"My hero."

"Hey, how did you get here?" Angela asked as Sam lifted Grace.

"It's the door," Claire answered. "It's still open."

"For now," Kaia added.

"Where's Jack?" Sam questioned.

"I think he's in the other place with your parents," Kaia replied as the noises grew closer.

"It's time to go." Claire pressed.

"Yeah, we gotta go." Angela nodded. "Go, go, go."

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, Claire, and Kaia ran towards the gate and Sam adjusted Grace in his arms.

"There!" Kaia exclaimed.

They all came to a stop around it. Kaia turned at the snap of a branch and watched the cloaked figure hurl its spear at Claire. She pushed Claire out of the way and got impaled by the spear herself. Kaia fell to the ground as Claire looked at her in despair. Sam handed Grace to Angela and he and Dean pulled out their angel blades.

"Kaia…" Claire breathed out.

Kaia reached out and took Claire's hand. As she died, her hand went limp and fell out of Claire's. Suddenly, the approaching footsteps stopped and the hunters looked up at a gigantic monster with glowing red eyes and a face made of rock.

~/~\~

Claire had just gotten up off the ground, furious. She charged at the cloaked figure blindly, intending to kill it. Dean woke up from his stupor and restrained her.

"No, no, no, no, Claire!" he exclaimed. "Come on, we've gotta go!"

"Go, go! Go, go, go!" Sam yelled.

The giant roared, showing its huge teeth. They all passed through the gate, which disappeared behind them.

~/~\~

A monster ran at Patience who shot it down. She looked shocked as it fell to the ground, dead. There was a loud noise and Sam, Angela, Dean, Grace, and Claire reappeared through the gate, Claire falling down in despair. The gate disappeared behind them.

"No!" Claire cried.

Jody came running into the room, holstering her gun and dropping down to cradle Claire, who was openly sobbing. Jody gave the hunters a questioning glance, to which Sam shook his head sadly.

~/~\~

Alex and Patience were putting away supplies. Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace were leaving, Jody walking with them.

"Bye guys," Sam told Alex and Patience.

"You know, I tried talking to her," Dean said.

"Yeah, she's uh, she seems pretty shut down," Sam replied.

"Claire's going to need a lot of time." Jody sighed.

"Well, um, when she is ready to hear it…" Angela trailed off.

"You tell her 'thank you' from us." Dean finished.

"Jody, that rift was open for a while; more of those things may have come through," Sam warned.

"Now we've seen some freaks, but over there it's a whole new world of bad," Dean added.

"We'll handle it," Jody assured. "Come on, you guys take care of the world. We got Sioux Falls covered."

"Damn right you do." Dean agreed.

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace hugged Jody before the got into the car.

"Bye!" Jody waved as they drove off.


	20. Breakdown Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam laid awake in the bed that he shared with Angela for hours that morning, while his wife slept peacefully beside him. Sam looked down at Angela and stroked her hair gently. Dean knocked loudly on the door, yet Angela didn't stir a bit.

"Yo, Grace and I are makin' pancakes," Dean started. "How many do you guys want?"

Sam didn't reply and just continued lying in bed. The clock read 10:00 am and Sam's phone was vibrating on the nightstand. He picked it up to see Donna was calling.

~/~\~

Sam and Angela walked into the kitchen. Sam was talking on the phone while Angela rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Yeah. All right. Yeah."

Dean checked his watch as the couple walked in. "Ho, ho, ho. There they are. Saved you guys each a short stack."

"Hey, Donna, I'm here with Dean and Angie," Sam started. "I'm gonna put you on speaker. Uh, why don't you tell them what you told me?"

 _"Oh. It's my niece."_ Donna sniffled. _"She's gone missing. And the local cops don't…"_ her voice cracked. _"I know it's not your normal thing, but—_

"Text us the address." Dean interrupted. "We're on our way."

 _"Thank you,"_ Donna replied sincerely.

~/~\~

_Oshkosh, Nebraska_

Donna was leaning against her truck when the Impala approached. Sam, Dean, and Angela stepped out.

"Hey, Donna." Angela greeted.

"Hey," she gave them each a hug.

"How are you holding up?" Dean asked gently.

"Oh, you know… not great," Donna admitted.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry for calling you guys, but Jody's got her hands full with the girls," Donna replied.

"Hey, never apologize for calling us," Angela told Donna. "And we talked to Jody when we dropped Grace off. She wishes she could be here."

"So, what do we know?" Sam asked.

"Uh, staties found her car on the side of the road," Donna answered. "Signs of a struggle."

"And what was she doing out here?" Angela asked.

"She was taking a gap year. It's like, this thing where—

"Take a year off, run wild before you go to college?" Dean quirked a brow.

"Mm-hmm. Yeah. I used to tell her about how much fun I had when I did it. Well, she thought that sounded like an adventure. She thought…" Donna's voice broke.

"Donna, hey. Whatever happened, it's not your fault." Dean assured.

"That's what Doug keeps telling me, but… I can't help but think—

"Just focus on the case," Sam whispered and Donna nodded.

"Doug here?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, he's in there. Talking to the locals." Donna nodded to the building.

"I'll go check in," Dean replied.

~/~\~

Dean walked into the warehouse and inspected Wendy's car. Doug was talking to the police and Dean noticed the flat tire with a spike in it.

"Excuse me!" Agent Clegg approached. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Oh, I um…"

"I asked you a question, son." Agent Clegg narrowed his eyes.

Dean squared his shoulders. "First off, I'm not your son. Second—

"Whoa, whoa, easy," Doug walked over to deescalate the situation. "Agent Clegg, this is Agent Savage, FBI."

"Oh. Company man." He nodded. "Wow, you should've told me."

"Well, I didn't get a chance," Dean replied.

"Uh-huh. And what field office are you out of?" Agent Clegg questioned. "I'm just curious who I should call about you walking through my crime scene."

"Hm. I think we got off on the wrong foot," Dean started. "Uh, I'm not here on official business. The victim—she's family. She's my cousin, so I'm just here to get some answers."

"Oh. I can respect that." Agent Clegg nodded. "All right, come on. I'll fill you in."

"Yeah."

"Sorry," Doug stopped Dean. "You and Donna are related?"

"Yeah." Dean lied.

"So you were in Sioux Falls a couple of weeks ago, at the family reunion."

"I was there. Yeah." Dean confirmed.

"Donna said it was a pretty wild time."

Dean chuckled. "It was wild. Absolutely."

Dean moved to leave, and Doug followed close behind.

~/~\~

Agent Clegg, Dean, and Doug were standing around a table, a map on the surface. Sam, Angela, and Donna were now in the office as well.

"This is where we found him," Agent Clegg pointed at the map. "This is an older stretch of highway, mostly used by long-haul truckers. There's no patrols to stop the speeders."

"So who found the car?" Angela questioned.

"Troopers got an anonymous tip," Agent Clegg answered.

"Well, that's convenient," Dean muttered.

"Yeah, fits with the pattern, though."

"Pattern?" Sam lifted a brow.

"They think it's part of something bigger," Doug chimed in. "And Wendy's not the only one."

"We found evidence that suggests she was targeted by a serial abductor. Now that spike we found on the tire, that's classic Butterfly." Agent Clegg explained.

"Sorry. Butterfly?" Dean's brows furrowed.

"That's what we call him, what I call him." Agent Clegg turned to a board of Missing Persons on another map. "He's got kind of a migrating pattern. Now, in the winter, he makes his way southward, targeting people that are traveling alone, people who won't be missed. Then in the summer, he turns around and he heads back up north."

"Now what about the victims?" Angela asked.

Agent Clegg looked nervously at Donna.

"Go on," Donna pushed.

"They disappear. We've never even found a body." Agent Clegg answered.

"So maybe they aren't, you know, _gone_ , gone," Doug suggested hopefully.

"Maybe." Agent Clegg pursed his lips. "Look, having you all here is not standard operating procedure, but if you wanna help… Now, I've been chasing this psycho for the last 12 years. I could use all the help I can get."

Dean looked to Sam and Angela. Sam just shook his head, but Dean ignored him.

"We're in," Dean said, earning an annoyed look from Sam.

~/~\~

Dean was sitting at the table in their motel room and fiddled with the settings on a CB radio. Angela sat on one of the motel beds, taking off her heels.

"No one uses CB radios anymore," Sam commented.

"No one except truckers," Dean replied as he picked up the receiver. "Breaker, breaker 1-9. This is 67, the Midnight Rider. Looking for the 4-1-1 on my Alice in Wonderland."

 _"Whoa, Midnight Rider,"_ the radio crackled as a man's voice came through. _"Sounds like that piece ran out on you."_

"She's redhead, brown sedan. She's family." Dean replied. "Breaker, breaker. Anyone?"

 _"Hot diggity, I'll find your Alice."_ The man replied. _"She'll be my family, too."_

 _"Not if I get there first."_ Another trucker laughed.

"You see?" Sam asked as he shrugged off his suit jacket. "Told you. This is stupid."

"It'll work," Dean assured. "Dad used it all the time."

"This isn't even our kind of case," Sam argued. "And you know, with the real Feds here, we should back down."

"You're joking, right?" Dean scoffed.

"Sammy, it's for Donna. We can't leave." Angela added.

"We're still fugitives." Sam reminded Dean.

"They think we're dead."

"Do you really wanna get on the FBI's radar again?" Sam raised his brows.

"Okay, so what do you wanna do? Hmm?" Dean asked. "You wanna call up Donna and say 'Hey, sorry about your niece. These kinds of things happen. Later.' And head back to the bunker so you can mope some more?"

"I'm not moping," Sam argued.

"You got up at 10:00 am this morning. _10:00 am_. You, Mr. Rise and Freakin' Shine." Dean retorted. "And then you turned down pancakes."

Dean got up from the table and took a beer out of the mini-fridge while Sam sat down next to Angela.

"I wasn't hungry." He shrugged.

"They're pancakes." Dean scoffed. "Look, I know you're in a dark place right now, okay? I mean, we lost Jack. Mom and Robert are… I think about 'em too. All the time. But you can't let it eat you up. Now look, when I was—when I was broken up, you and Angie were there for me. Well, we're for you now. And I'm telling you, the only way out of this is through. Now when everything goes to hell, what do we do? We put our heads down and we do the work."

"We'll find Jack, baby." Angela rubbed Sam's shoulder. "We'll save Dad and Mary, we will. But right now, Donna needs our help. Okay?"

 _"Breaker, breaker,"_ a female voice came through the radio. _"Midnight Rider. Felix the Cat here. Breaker, breaker, Midnight Rider. Felix the Cat here. I, uh, think I got somethin' for ya."_

Dean picked up the receiver. "10-4, Felix. What do you got?"

 _"Better we talk live and in color,"_ the woman replied. _"You mind meeting up? There's, uh, there's a place off Gold Rush Byway, just past mile marker 980. I'll roll through around noon."_

"It's a date. Over." Dean replied before turning back to Sam. "Alright, I'll go check that out tomorrow. Why don't you and Angie hang back in case something else breaks?"

"Okay." Sam nodded. "Look… obviously, I'm here for Donna, all right? I wanna help."

"We know you do, baby." Angela kissed his cheek. "So let's find this son of a bitch."

~/~\~

"Now we subpoenaed your niece's credit cards so we can trace her steps," Agent Clegg handed Donna a document as Sam and Angela entered the police station.

"Hey. Sorry, we're late." Angela apologized as Agent Clegg handed her a large binder. "What's this?"

"That is the last 12 years of my life. Right there is every person we think got taken by the Butterfly."

"Really?" Sam raised his brows.

"Like I was telling Donna, the last place that we can put Wendy is at a gas station is Oshkosh, Nebraska," Agent Clegg started. "Now based on the Butterfly's pattern, I have a shortlist of suspects that I like, but there's one guy, in particular, I've always liked more than the others."

"You ever bring him in?" Sam questioned.

Agent Clegg shook his head. "No. Could never get anything concrete to link up. Until now. You see, that night… he was there, too."

A man in handcuffs walked in with a Bible in his hand and a smirk on his face. He, along with others were brought in a room to line up.

"That's your guy?" Sam asked skeptically.

"Pastor 'Diamond' Don Hankey," Agent Clegg nodded. "Road preacher. Ministers to truckers, mostly. Don't let his squeaky clean act fool you, though. He's got a jacket. Arrests for lewd behavior, couple drunk and disorderlies."

Pastor Hankey was brought into the interrogation room by a police officer.

"Thank you for your service, son."

"And we picked him up… we found this." Agent Clegg showed Sam, Angela, and Donna an evidence bag with a bloody, white shirt inside.

"That's Wendy's." Donna breathed out.

~/~\~

Dean and the female trucker sat in a booth at the diner.

"So, this girl of yours…"

"You saw here that night?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Twice," she nodded. "Usually, I-I try to stay out of this sort of stuff. I just run my route and keep out of trouble. But… that night, that girl… like I said, I saw her twice. Uh, once at a station off Highway 26… And then later, I was driving off Road 88 and… I shouldn't have left her there," she explained. "But, um, I was running behind schedule and I just… Well, it's the only reason I even gassed up there. That place gives me the creeps."

"And what's this place called?"

~/~\~

Sam, Angela, and Agent Clegg were interrogating Pastor Hankey. Donna was watching from the other side of the room.

"Manny's Truck Stop Café," Sam started. "The other night—we can put you there."

"I got where my ministry takes me." Pastor Hankey answered.

Agent Clegg showed him a photo of Wendy. "You know her? Her name is Wendy Hanscum. Recent high school grad. Popular. She has her whole life ahead of her. No?" he quirked a brow when he got no response and showed another photo. "What about him? Luis Fernando. He had a family. They're both missing."

"The girl looks vaguely familiar." Pastor Hankey shrugged. "I've never laid eyes on the immigrant."

"Wow," Angela scoffed in annoyance. "Nice."

"Okay, let's focus on the girl, then." Agent Clegg told the pastor.

"Lawyer."

"Excuse me?" Agent Clegg demanded.

"I know my rights." Pastor Hankey shrugged.

Agent Clegg glared at the man. "Do you think I give a tinker's damn about your rights?"

"I don't care what you or your goons think. I know my rights, so get me a lawyer." Pastor Hankey demanded. "Then you can ask me anything you like about your illegal and your whore."

Agent Clegg grabbed the pastor by the lapels of his jacket. "Tough guy, huh?!"

"Whoa, whoa," Sam grabbed him. "Hey, hey, hey! Agent, Agent, please. Take it easy."

"Mind if I talk to him?" Donna entered the room.

~/~\~

The Impala was parked outside of the café and Doug got in.

"Thanks for coming."

"Got that report you asked for," Doug handed Dean a file. "Everything that's gone down at Manny's Truck Stop Café recently."

"And?" Dean asked.

"Couple of D&D's, four counts of public urination, but—

"Nothing that screams secret hunting ground for a kidnapper." Dean finished.

"Not exactly," Doug replied as Dean looked through the file. "Can I ask you a question? About Donna?"

"Okay." Dean nodded.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Doug asked concernedly. "I mean, I love Donna, but I've only known her for a couple years, and this… I've never seen her like this."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"I mean, she's barely talkin' to me, and we always talk. About the Vikes, about the Real Housewives, about everything. This is a tough time, I know, but… I think she's hiding something from me. Anyhoo, forget it. It's probably nothing." Doug chuckled. "I'm probably just spinning. It's nothing."

"Doug, you're a good guy," Dean replied. "And you're gonna be there for Donna."

"You betcha." Doug nodded.

"So, you know, just… trust her. Okay?"

~/~\~

"I said I want my lawyer." Pastor Hankey told Donna.

"You sure? I mean, the Bible doesn't have much good to say about them." Donna replied. "But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John." She recited.

"You know your scripture." Pastor Hankey smiled.

"Even the good book's got lawyer jokes."

"I know what you're doin'. And I want—

"Lawyer. Yeah, yeah." She interrupted as she pulled up a chair and sat down. "Okay, but here's the thing. This is a small town. And it's Friday night. You know? So if you're lucky, they might be able to get you a public defender by Monday. Maybe. Which means you get to spend at least two nights in the big cell." She informed. "Just you and bunch of guys who… well, look at you and all they're gonna see is Sunday dinner. So… if you wanna deal with that? Super. Or… you can answer a few questions, and I can get you outta here. Your call."

"She's good." Agent Clegg commented as they watched from the other room.

"Yeah, she is." Angela agreed.

~/~\~

Dean and Doug approached the café and a man with long brown hair approached.

"Windows? Oil?"

Den took out his phone and showed the man a picture of Wendy. "How about a girl?"

"Have you seen her?" Doug asked.

"May have." The man answered vaguely.

"Mm-hmm." Dean handed over some money. "Keep talking."

"She was in a couple of nights ago. Marlon liked her."

"Marlon?" Doug echoed.

"He's the cashier," the man explained. "After she left, he closed up early and drove off after her. Didn't come back till dawn."

"Uh-huh." Dean nodded.

~/~\~

"How long you been on the road?" Donna interrogated.

"Oh, a long time." Pastor Hankey drawled.

"Maybe 12 years, you'd say?"

"Yeah, could be." Pastor Hankey nodded.

"You just travel all over, huh?" Donna asked.

"Across God's green Earth."

Donna tilted her head slightly. "You a family man, Pastor?"

"Married, two kids." He confirmed.

"They know about that girl you flashed outside Cheyenne?" Donna questioned. "How 'bout that teenage boy says you picked him up hitchhiking?"

"I'm weak. I am made of flesh." Pastor Hankey sneered.

"Oh. That's your excuse?" she scoffed.

"God knows I'm a sinner. And my wife, she knows, too. We're working through it."

"Yeah?" Donna took out the bloody, white shirt from the evidence bag. "She know about this? Belongs to my niece. What did you do with her?"

"I don't… That's not…" Pastor Hankey stammered.

"We found it in your van. You hurt her, right?"

The pastor shook his head frantically. "No. No, no, no, no."

"You made her bleed," Donna growled.

"No."

"Don't lie to me."

"No, I'm not." Pastor Hankey assured.

Donna slammed the table as she stood. "Don't lie to God!"

"I'm not. I've done wrong, but I've never hurt anybody. Never." He whimpered. "Please, you have to believe me. Please. Please." He cried.

~/~\~

"I believe him." Donna sighed heavily.

"Yeah, so do Sammy and I." Angela agreed.

"But the shirt…" Agent Clegg frowned.

"Yeah, the shirt doesn't make any sense," Sam commented. "I mean, what? I'm—I'm a criminal mastermind that avoids capture for 12 years and when I'm finally arrested, there's a bloody shirt in my van that links me to one of the victims? It's too easy."

"So someone planted it," Donna suggested.

"Definitely possible." Angela nodded. "I mean, maybe back at the truck stop?"

"But if it's not the Pastor, who is it?"

~/~\~

Marlon was sitting behind the counter when Dean and Doug walked in.

"Where is she?" Dean showed him the picture of Wendy.

"Mmm," Marlon looked over the picture appreciatively. "I don't know."

Dean slammed him down on the countertop's surface and Doug's eyes widened.

"Dean, what are you—

"It's how we do things in the FBI." Dean interrupted.

"It is?" Doug asked in disbelief.

Dean lifted Marlon up. "Try again."

"I said I don't—

Dean slammed him down again. "Look, I know you saw her and I know you went after her. So where is she?"

"You won't believe it."

"Try me." Dean glared.

~/~\~

Doug turned the 'closed' sign on while Marlon typed away on his laptop. A window appeared showing video footage of a man on an operating table, whimpering. Various usernames and prices appeared on the screen.

"What? What's that?" Doug asked in confusion.

"It's like eBay. Kinda." Marlon answered.

The man, Luis Fernando, started to yell as the harvester approached him with a drill saw.

"They're selling him off," Dean realized. "Piece by piece."

 _"Somebody!"_ Luis cried. _"Somebody help me! Oh, God, please! Help me!"_

Dean and Doug watched, disgusted, as they watched the video. Marlon smiled sickly.


	21. Breakdown Part 2

Donna, Sam, and Angela were now standing with Dean and Doug behind Marlon.

"So it ended about 30 minutes ago. Show 'em how it started." Dean told Marlon.

Marlon showed them the video of Luis screaming in pain. Sam grimaced and Angela covered her mouth in shock.

"Hey, come on." Sam turned off the video.

"Aw. What's the matter? You vegan?" Marlon mocked.

Doug slapped him over the head, earning a look from Donna. "How they do it in the FBI."

Donna looked at Dean knowingly. "Who'd do this, buy pieces of people? For what? Trophies?"

"No, it's for food," Angela replied.

"Look at the comments," Dean added. "Yum. Tasty. Can't wait to get my delivery. It's takeout for—

"Monsters." Donna finished.

"What?" Doug's eyes widened.

"We'll talk about it later," Donna replied.

"What's there to talk about?"

"Where does this broadcast from?" Sam questioned.

"I don't know." Marlon shrugged. "Got me. I mean, I don't run the thing. I just… Look, I see someone I think nobody's gonna miss, I send a message, I get paid."

"And you feel good about that?" Dean scoffed.

"No, but, you know, like you don't got bills?"

"Guys, guys, look at this." Sam frowned as a live video of Wendy played.

 _"Please,"_ Wendy whimpered. _"If anybody's watching this… please. Please help me."_

"Oh, God." Donna breathed out before she walked away, Doug hot on her heels.

"Okay, can you—can you hack into it and find out where she is?" Dean asked Sam.

"I don't know, Dean." He shook his head. "This feed's on an encrypted TOR server. I mean, this is dark web stuff. Even if I could crack it, it would take days."

"Okay, well, you got 58 minutes."

"I can't do it," Sam stressed.

"Then who can?" Dean asked.

"The FBI," Angela answered.

Meanwhile, Doug and Donna were talking in the back room of the truck stop.

"So you're saying… monsters are real?" Doug asked in disbelief.

"Pretty much." She nodded.

"Those guys and Angela, they're not related to you, are they?"

"They're hunters. They kill monsters." Donna explained. "And so do I. Sometimes."

"Hey," Dean walked in. "We gotta roll. Clegg's got a 20 on that video feed, and we got 42 minutes."

~/~\~

That night, the Impala pulled up outside of a building. Sam, Dean, and Angela got out.

"This is it," Sam confirmed.

"You head around back," Dean told him. "We'll take the front."

Angela leaned up and pecked Sam's lips. "Be safe. Love you."

"You, too." Sam smiled softly. "Love you, too."

~/~\~

Dean, Angela, and Donna walked the hallways with guns and flashlights. Doug and Marlon followed behind them as they entered a room.

"All clear," Dean muttered.

Donna turned to look at Doug. "You okay hanging back?"

"Someone's gotta watch him." He nodded to Marlon.

"Dougie, we'll figure this out when we get back to Stillwater, okay?" Donna promised.

Dean handed a gun to Doug. "Here. 20 minutes. Let's go."

Dean, Angela, and Donna continued walking through the building.

~/~\~

Sam tried to open a door but heard someone approaching. He turned with his gun in hand to see Agent Clegg behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked in confusion.

"You called me." Agent Clegg answered obviously.

"I called you for an address, not for backup."

"So you send me a link to a website that sells people, you don't expect me to show up?" Agent Clegg scoffed. "Look, I don't know what the hell's going on here, but I've been hunting the Butterfly a long time. Now I need to see this through."

"All right, follow me," Sam instructed.

~/~\~

Dean, Angela, and Donna walked the halls of the building, checking each room. Dean gestured to the two women and the stood against one side of the hall. They rushed into a room where music was coming from, but it was empty, all except for a radio.

~/~\~

Sam and Agent Clegg were searching the building when the heard fighting. Sam gestured to the door as Agent Clegg held up his gun.

"One…" Sam whispered.

Out of nowhere, Agent Clegg knocked Sam out before he could finish counting.

~/~\~

Donna walked in and saw Doug on the floor, while Dean and Angela walked in behind her.

"Doug!" Donna rushed to him.

"What happened?" Angela looked around. "Where's Marlon?"

"Hold on," Donna told Doug. "Just hold on. You're gonna be okay. Where are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, but…" Doug trailed off as a set of fangs lowered over his teeth. "I don't think I'm okay."

Donna reeled back in shock. "Oh, Doug. Oh, God."

"I'm hungry," Doug whispered.

"Okay."

"I'm so hungry."

Doug tackled Donna to the ground and tried to bite her. Dean grabbed him and injected him with a syringe, causing Doug to pass out. Angela rushed to console Donna.

"Is he…?"

"A vamp?" Dean finished. "Yeah."

"Oh, God." Dean shook her head.

"Yeah. The change—sometimes it's fast, sometimes it's slow, just depends on the person." Dean explained. "I just shot him up with some Dead Man's Blood. He should be knocked out for a while."

"Oh, jeez."

"He'll be okay," Angela assured.

"You call this okay?!" Donna exclaimed.

"Look, he just got turned, okay? Which means that he hasn't fed, which means that there is a cure." Dean replied.

Donna's brows furrowed. "Huh?"

"We just need to mix up some sage, a little bit of garlic—

"And you need the bloodsucker who turned him." Marlon entered.

"Well, thanks for making it easy for me." Dean sassed.

Marlon chuckled. "You never saw it comin'. He got you."

"He, who?" Angela demanded.

"Clegg, man." Marlon laughed. "Sweetheart, he's got your husband."

"Where?" Angela glared icily.

"Oh. Wouldn't you like to know." Marlon smirked as he looked at Dean. "Shouldn't have been so _rough_ with me. I hold a grudge."

"Well…" Dean took out a machete. "Bring it, Twilight."

Before Dean could attack, a gunshot his Marlon in the leg, and he fell to the floor. Donna had a shotgun in her hands.

"You, get his blood and mix that cure," Donna told Dean. "And you…" she walked to Marlon. "Where's Clegg?"

"I tell you, you'll kill me."

"Oh, I'm killing ya either way," Donna promised. "You just gotta decide if you want it fast or slow."

~/~\~

Sam was lying unconscious on the operating table. He woke up groggily as Clegg tightened the restraints.

"No, no, no. Get further back with that," Clegg told the Harvester. "He's a big boy. We need him on a wide lens."

"You… You're the Butterfly." Sam realized.

"And you're Sam Winchester. You, your brother, and your wife are famous." Clegg replied. "Hell, soon as I saw that fancy car, I knew who you were. And I knew you'd be trouble. Tried to give you that preacher, but you saw right through that. So now it's on to Plan B."

"Why are you doing this?" Sam demanded.

"Well, 'cause somebody has to." Clegg shrugged. "How many monsters do you think are out there, Sam? You know, if you—you had to guess."

"Hundreds. Thousands."

"Add a zero. Actually, add two." Clegg corrected. "See, those freaks that you and your family chase, those are just the ones that can't pass. Either because they're too mean or they're too stupid, or both. But most monsters… hell, they could be your next-door neighbor. They work a regular job, mow their laws on Saturday. And they need to eat, which is where I come in."

"So you sell them people," Sam replied.

"I sell them people other people won't miss. And because I do that, I save lives. If my customers didn't have me… then all those hungry, hungry hippos would be out there huntin' and killin'. And you couldn't stop 'em. No one could. You should be thanking me."

Sam scoffed. "Huh. Yeah. Alright. Go to Hell."

Clegg smirked and slapped Sam on the arm. "I'll see you there. Now I know you've been stalling because you think Dean and Angie are gonna show up, but… Sorry, kid. It's showtime."

The Harvester started the live auction on the laptop while Clegg put a mask over his face. The Harvester turned the camera on.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Clegg started. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you something truly special. A new auction. Introducing… Mr. Sam Winchester!"

~/~\~

The Impala sped down the highway towards Sam's location.

"This… it's gonna work, right?" Donna asked worriedly.

"It worked on me," Dean replied.

Donna held Doug's head up as she fed him the cure. "Okay. There you go. There you go."

Dean looked over at Angela, who was nervously pulling at her shirt. "You okay, kiddo?"

"I just wanna get Sammy back." She whispered.

"We'll get him back safe and sound, Angie," Dean assured. "I promise."

~/~\~

"$5,000 for the liver. Going one… going twice… Sold!" Clegg exclaimed. "And now ladies and gentlemen, let's begin the auction, for Sam Winchester's heart!"

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up to another building and Dean threw the car in park.

"Angie, I need you to stay here with Doug, okay?" Dean asked.

"Dean—

"Please, kiddo." He interrupted. "I'll get Sammy back." He kissed her temple.

Angela nodded reluctantly and watched as Dean and Donna got out.

~/~\~

Dean and Donna walked into a large room with their guns and flashlights. Dean gestured to Donna to go in one direction, while he went in another.

~/~\~

"$50,000. Do I have $60,000? $60,000? $60,000. Yes!" Clegg exclaimed as Sam struggled against the restraints. "Do I have $65,000? Look at that jump! $100,000! Folks, there are many pieces to Sam Winchester… but only one heart. Look at that! $500,000! $500,000 going once… going twice… Sold!" he exclaimed as he turned to Sam. "Usually, we do this next part kind of slow, so you can feel it, but since Dean and Angela are out there… quick and dirty." He pointed a gun at Sam's head. "Say goodbye, Sam."

A gunshot rang out and Clegg fell to the ground. Dean held his smoking gun.

"Show's over."

~/~\~

Inside the motel, Donna sat next to Doug, who was waking up.

"Oh, jeez." She whispered. "Dougie-Bear? Are you okay?"

"I…" he looked at Sam, Dean, and Angela.

Angela was hugging Sam's waist tightly and Sam had an arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"You feel like you wanna bite any of us?" Dean quirked a brow.

"Not really," Doug answered.

"Alright," Sam nodded. "Then I guess it worked."

Donna unlocked the handcuffs on Doug and his eyes widened.

"W-Wendy?"

"She's safe," Donna smiled. "She's at a hospital. She's gonna be fine, just like you."

"Fine?" Doug echoed.

"Yeah."

"I was a vampire," he reminded.

"For a couple hours," Donna replied.

Doug stood up, and Dean did the same.

"Listen, Doug… I know it's been a day," he started. "But now you know what's out there. Be nice to have another good guy on our side."

"I… No." Doug shook his head. "Maybe you all can live this life, but I can't. I just wanna go home."

Donna held Doug's hand. "So we'll go home."

"And what?" he questioned. "I'm a cop 'cause I like helpin' folks, but… Vampires? That's…" he dropped Donna's hand. "I'm not…" he moved towards the door.

"Doug," she followed him. "I'm sorry I lied to you… but I can't give this up."

"I know," he nodded sadly. "Donna, you kill monsters. You're a damn hero. But that's… it's not me. I'm sorry. I love you. I'm sorry." He added before he left.

"Doug, wait!" Donna cried.

"Let him go," Sam told her. "Donna, when you choose this life, anyone who gets too close, eventually, they get hurt. Or worse. So let him go. He'll be safer that way." He pulled away from Angela's grasp and left the room.

Donna cried and Angela hugged her tightly, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

~/~\~

The Impala sped down the dark road.

"You were a little tough on Donna back there." Dean broke the silence.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Just sayin'." Dean shrugged.

"Was I wrong?" Sam raised his brows. "I mean, when has knowing us ever worked out for anyone?"

"It worked out for me," Angela replied. "I mean, all those years ago, you could have let me go, but you didn't. We save people, Sam."

"Yeah, we also get people killed," Sam argued. "Kaia, for instance. She helped us and she died for it."

"Hey, look, I know you're in some sort of a—

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, don't—don't… You keep saying I'm in a dark place." Sam cut Dean off. "But I'm not, Dean. Everything I'm saying is the truth. It's our lives. And I tried to pretend it didn't have to be. I tried to pretend we could have Mom and Robert back, and Cas—and—and help Jack. But we can't. This ends one way for us. It ends bloody." Sam looked out the window. "It ends bad."

Angela ran a hand over her swollen stomach and twisted so that her back was turned to Sam. "I'm going to sleep."


	22. Various & Sundry Villains Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

"Alright! We've got 'Principia Phantasmagoria.'" Dean threw a large book onto a pile of books in front of Sam and Angela. "We have 'Archive of the Unnatural Occurrences.' And we've got 'Jower et Nuet.' Kind of a weird name."

"Jour et Nuit," Angela corrected in French. "It's, uh, it's French. It means 'The Book of Day and Night.'"

"I always forget that you're like, trilingual," Dean muttered. "So, this is everything that even mentions some alternate realities. So there's gotta be something here that talks about the Apocalypse World, right?"

"Yeah, maybe," Sam muttered.

"Dude." Dean huffed.

"I'm just saying, Dean, Jack was our way over there, obviously, so with him gone…"

"Okay, well, Jack's been gone before." Dean shrugged. "We found him once. We can find him again."

"No, no, he didn't run away. He is literally in an alternate reality." Sam argued in frustration.

"Okay, so we'll just come up with a Plan B, okay? You said it yourself. We just keep our heads down and we'll do the work."

Sam's brows furrowed. "You said that."

"And I was right," Dean replied. "Yeah. So, you guys read, do your Sam and Angie things, I'm gonna go for a beer run."

"Yeah," Sam muttered.

"Ooh can you get me some apple juice?" Angela asked.

"Apple juice?" Dean asked in confusion.

"Pregnancy cravings." Angela shrugged. "Oh! And I want pickles. And Oreos."

"Okay, okay. I got it." Dean replied. "We should probably loop Cas in at some point."

"We'll fill him in when he calls. He checks in every day." Sam replied.

"Yeah, with a bunch of questions and no leads."

"I'm sure he is doing the best he can," Sam assured. "Just go get beer or…" he waved Dean away.

Dean tapped the pile of books before leaving. "Don't have sex in here while I'm gone!"

~/~\~

Outside of the convenience store, Dean rounded the corner to where the Impala was parked, a 6-pack of beer and a grocery bag in hand.

"Somebody help!" Jennie cried. "Please, there's something wrong with my sister!"

Dean placed the beer and bag on the hood of the Impala and rushed to help two young, blonde girls.

"Please, please. Please!" Jennie begged frantically.

"Okay. Watch out, watch out, watch out. What happened?" Dean knelt over Jamie.

"I don't know. Please. She just—she just collapsed. I—We were walking and…" she trailed off. "Aegrota amore." She slipped a hex bag into Dean's pocket. "Doesn't a kiss, like, usually wake up your true love?"

Dean blinked a few times and looked down at Jamie. He slowly moved to place a gentle kiss on her lips and she gasped as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Thank you." She smiled as Dean helped her sit up. "You saved me. Are you Dean Winchester?"

"I—I… Yeah." He stuttered. "How are you feeling?"

"How are you feeling?" Jamie asked.

"Good." He whispered. "Real good."

~/~\~

Dean walked into the bunker, whistling. Grace sat with her parents, drawing with crayons.

"Hey, uh… I think you might be right," Sam started. "I think maybe it's time we go ahead and call Cas, because, I mean, if… if…"

Dean continued to whistle while doing a little spin as he entered the library. He dropped the 6-pack, the grocery bag, and his keys on the table.

"Is Unca Dean okay?" Grace asked.

"Good question," Angela muttered. "Dean, are you all right?"

"Am I all right?" he echoed. "I'm in love."

Sam's brows shot up in surprise. "You… Oh, are you?"

"I mean, I am, like, full-on twitterpated here. Seriously, I can't wait for you guys to meet her." Dean gushed. "She—I mean, she's… She's sweet and she's beautiful and she's just kinda sorta perfect. Anyway, I'm thinking of asking her to move in with me here… if that's cool 'cause this is big time." He opened a drawer and removed the Black Grimoire. "Ahh."

"Uh, Dean, w-what are you doing with the Black Grimoire?" Sam questioned.

"It's a gift. For Jamie."

"For… Jamie?" Sam asked.

"My soulmate." Dean winked.

"Sure. Right." Sam stood up and walked over to Dean. "And did she happen to ask for that book by, uh, name?"

"Yeah!" Dean nodded. "I mean, isn't that kind of cosmic fate, that we actually have it? Like…" he imitated a head explosion.

"Cosmic fate," Sam repeated. "Right, yeah. Okay, okay, okay. I think I know what's going on here. Do you remember, uh, uh, Becky in Vegas? The love spell."

"Unfortunately," Angela muttered.

"No." Dean shook his head.

"Okay," Sam pursed his lips. "I think Jamie must be a witch or demon—

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa." Dean stopped him.

"What?"

"Be nice," Dean replied.

"Just hold on a second," Sam pleaded.

"I can't wait 'cause she's waiting for me at the market, so I'm just gonna…" Dean trailed off as Sam quickly grabbed the keys from the table. "Okay. All right. That's fine. You know why? I'll walk 'cause it is gorgeous outside."

"Wait a second. Dean, listen, honestly."

Sam grabbed Dean's shoulder. The eldest Winchester turned quickly and punched Sam, knocking him out.

"Dean!" Angela stood up.

"Oooh. Right on the button." Dean cringed. "Listen, when I get back from my date, I'll help him ice that." He walked up the spiral staircase.

~/~\~

Dean had a grin on his face as he walked up to Jamie and Jennie, with the Black Grimoire in his hands.

"Where's the car?" Jennie frowned in disappointment. "I wanted the car."

"There you go." Dean handed Jennie the book.

Jamie grinned. "Good boys get a kiss. Close your eyes."

Dean did as he was told and waited for the kiss to come. Jamie started to swing her large sledgehammer when the Impala raced into the parking lot with screeching wheels. Sam and Angela hopped out and ran towards the group, pointing their guns at the girls.

"Get away from him," Sam warned. "You heard me."

"Don't point a gun at her!" Dean yelled angrily. "Hey!" he lunged at his brother and Angela.

"Uhh! No, Dean!" Sam exclaimed.

Angela attempted to pull Dean off of Sam, but Dean knocked the gun from his hands and slammed him on the hood of the car.

"Don't you point a gun at her!"

"What are you doing?!" Sam demanded.

"Don't point a gun at her!" Dean repeated.

"Where is it?" Sam questioned.

"You're jealous!"

"I'm married!" Sam exclaimed.

"There's gotta be a hex bag. Where is it?" Angela muttered. "Dean, please, just…"

"We should get out of here," Jennie muttered. "In case the one with the hair and the lady actually win."

"No, no, no, don't—don't leave." Dean pleaded.

"Bye-bye." Jamie waved as they got into their car.

"Where is it? Huh?" Sam asked before he finally found the hex bag. "Look, Dean! I got it! Hex bag! Wait, Dean…" he frowned as Dean slapped the hex bag from his hand. "Aah! No!"

"I'm sorry Sam. I just—I love her so much."

Suddenly, they were all zapped with a purple bolt of lightning and separated, gasping and confused. The hex bag burst into flames and the hunters looked up to see Rowena.

"Hello, boys. Angie." She smirked.

~/~\~

In the bunker, Rowena was pouring three whiskeys, neat, while Angela drank apple juice.

"Ask me," Rowena prompted.

"How are you alive?" Angela asked.

"Lucifer told us he killed you pretty, uh… pretty graphically," Sam added.

"And he did." Rowena nodded. "But I take precautions to ensure that if I die it is temporary." She handed the boys each a whiskey.

"You're talking about a, uh, resurrection spell, like last time?" Sam quirked a brow.

"Mmhmm." Rowena hummed. "That said, it took a very long time to heal. And I'm not interested in it ever happening again, which is why I need the Black Grimoire."

"What a coincidence," Dean started sarcastically. "You happen to show up right when it's stolen."

"Oh, no coincidence," Rowena leaned against the table. "I felt the book moving. In a moment of weakness, I may have put a tracking spell on the Grimoire behind your backs."

"Moment of weakness, huh? Right." Dean replied, unconvinced.

"Why do you want it so bad? Why now?" Angela questioned.

"Oh, years ago, the Grand Coven cast a binding spell limiting aspects of my magic. There's a page in the Grimoire that may help."

"Help you become more powerful? Yeah, that's what we want." Dean scoffed.

"Help me protect myself." Rowena corrected.

"Let me get this straight," Sam started. "You, uh, felt the book moving and you decided, what? You'd—you'd—you'd just show up and take it?"

"Well, I thought about asking nicely for it, but…"

"Yeah, but you knew we'd tell you to go to Hell," Dean replied.

"Exactly." Rowena nodded. "Now, I'm—I'm worried the girls will damage the book, and you're worried about the awful things they'll do with it, so… Let's… help each other, shall we?"

"We don't need your help. We've handled witches before." Angela reminded.

"You're familiar with our work, right?" Dean asked.

"Ah. Oh, you Winchesters. I've changed. Honestly." Rowena promised. "Having your skull crushed and being burned alive can do that to a girl. And it's my tracking spell, so if you want to find those girls… Well, lover?"

"Okay." Dean relented.

"You'll need me. Slainte." Rowena drank her whiskey. "Oh. One more thing. Where's my son?"

~/~\~

"Fergus is dead?" Rowena asked in disbelief.

"Yep." Sam nodded.

"Killed himself for us," Dean added.

Rowena shook her head. "That doesn't sound like him."

"Right, well, Fergus, uh, uh… Crowley, um, he had changed a lot." Sam explained. "You'd have been proud of him."

"Is that so?" Rowena turned to face the hunters. "Fergus was my only child. And I promise you, I'd much rather have a living son, even one that hated me, than a dead hero."

"Because of him, Lucifer is trapped in another reality," Sam informed. "So…"

"Yeah, the Devil's gone," Dean confirmed.

"Oh, don't be stupid. He's never gone!" Rowena exclaimed.

"Okay, listen, I know what Lucifer is cap—

"Oh, can we not?" Rowena interrupted Sam. "It's like reminiscing about an abusive relationship. Why do that?"

"Let's get back to the book," Dean changed the subject. "What kind of hurt can these chicks do with it?"

"Oh, I'm sure they have big plans."

"Sounds like you know them," Angela replied.

"Just remember being a young, overly ambitious, wee witch." Rowena shrugged. "And I have to give them some credit. Outfoxed you, didn't they?" she chuckled to Dean. "Tell me, did they get to fifth base?"

Dean frowned. "There's no such thing as fifth base."

"Oh, you poor, sheltered boy," Rowena smirked.

"What's fifth base?" Grace asked innocently.

"Nothing that you need to know about," Sam answered. "It's adult stuff."

"Anyway," Rowena chimed in. "What's by is by. And who knows? If I help you, maybe you'll change your mind about helping me."

"No." Dean and Angela scoffed.

"Not happening," Sam replied.


	23. Various & Sundry Villains Part 2

_Stillwater, Oklahoma_

"Welcome to Stillwater, Oklahoma," Sam said from the passenger seat.

"How depressingly midwestern." Rowena cringed.

Dean shut off the Impala's engine. "All right, Red. Where to?"

"The tracking spell isn't like GPS," Rowena replied. "The book is not moving and it's in this general area. We'll need to speak to the yokels."

"Okay, well, small-town folks usually like to look out for themselves," Dean commented.

"I can make them talk," Rowena smirked.

"Uh, your spells tend to boil people's brains," Angela reminded. "So maybe let us handle it."

"Fine, fine," Rowena sighed resignedly. "We can do your very time-consuming investi…" she mimicked snoring.

"Okay, see, 'we' aren't doing anything." Dean corrected.

"I'll keep an eye on her." Sam offered. "You and Angie go in."

"Great." Dean nodded.

"Leave me with the babysitter if you must, but do start with the women."

Dean turned and gave Rowena a questioning look.

"Something tells me those girls aren't popular with other ladies," Rowena noted.

~/~\~

"Well, this is boring," Rowena complained. "Is there… I don't know, music?"

"Yeah, yeah. Dean has a tape of Led Zeppelin's 'Moby Dick' with an 8-minute drum solo." Sam reached into the glove box. "Let me see. It's around here somewhere."

"Are you sure I can't just enslave some townsfolk and make them take us to the girls?" Rowena asked.

"I'm very sure that you can, but I'm also very sure that you shouldn't."

"Bless your precious heart, you just described my entire life." Rowena deadpanned.

Sam turned to face the witch and glanced at Grace's sleeping form. "Rowena, even if you pull off whatever plan you're trying to pull off, and even if you manage to get the book back—

"I've been on my best behavior," she interrupted.

Sam nodded in acknowledgment. "Okay, sure. Let's say you get the book. It's not going to change anything. You're still going to feel helpless. What Lucifer did to you—

"Told you, I don't… Before he crushed my skull, Lucifer showed me his face. His true face." Rowena revealed, tears in her eyes. "I'm scared, Sam. All the time."

"I've seen it too," Sam replied gently. "What he really looks like behind—behind whatever vessel. It… yeah, still keeps me up at night."

"How do you deal with it?"

"I guess I don't deal with it," Sam admitted. "Not really. I mean, I pushed it down and, um, the world kept almost ending, so I keep pushing it down, and I don't know. I really don't talk about it, not even with Angie and Dean. I mean, I could. You know, they'd listen, but… That's not something I really know how to share."

~/~\~

Dean and Angela walked into the hardware store and approached the cashier, Brenda.

"Hi there," Angela greeted. "Been to a few other places, haven't had much luck. Was hoping you could help us out."

"Oh, happy to try," Brenda replied cheerfully. "What do you need?"

"We're looking for these two girls," Dean started. "Uh, in town, Jennie and Jamie."

Brenda's face contorted in disgust. "Oh. The Plum sisters."

"Right. Yeah, we're looking to track them down." Dean nodded.

"Hmm. You and every other man west of the Ozarks."

"Popular, huh?" Dean asked.

"That's one word for it. And a whole mess of trouble." Brenda replied.

"Well, they took something from me," Dean informed. "And I need to get it back."

Brenda rolled her eyes. "Heard it before, they stole your heart, you can't live without them."

"They stole a book."

"A book?" Brenda echoed before she started laughing. "Honey, now I know you're lying. I doubt they can even read."

"Well, that has been up for debate. If it helps, we don't plan on being nice about it when we do find them." Dean smiled.

Brenda perked up excitedly and ran a length of register paper off. She quickly scrawled down the girls' location.

"You gonna be really mean?" she questioned.

"Yeah."

"'Cause it's about damn time someone was," she handed Dean the address.

"Thank you." Dean smiled charmingly.

"You're welcome." Brenda nodded.

~/~\~

"Even if you do get the book," Sam started. "And even if you get your power back, it won't matter. You won't ever be able to change what happened. You won't be able to change how helpless you felt, or how helpless you feel. You're still gonna get scared. And that feeling… that feeling never goes away."

"Never?" Rowena frowned.

"Never," Sam repeated and Rowena opened the car door to exit. "Hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey. What are you doing? Where are you going?"

"I just need a minute," Rowena answered. "I'm not fleeing. Don't release the hounds!"

"Hey," Dean greeted as he and Angela approached.

"Hey," Sam replied.

"What's going on?" Angela asked.

"Uh, she just needs a minute. She's all right." Sam waved it off.

"All right, well, we got the address. Rowena was right. These girls are not fan favorites."

"Right," Rowena joined the hunters. "Time to get that book."

"Oh, no, no." Dean shook his head. "You've done your bit, okay? We'll take it from here."

"I was afraid you might say that." Rowena walked away and dropped a hex bag in front of the hunters. "Manete!" she chanted, freezing them in place.

"Rowena! Rowena, stop!" Angela yelled.

"Rowena, dammit!"

"Oh, come on. All right." Sam groaned as he reached for the hex bag, barely touching it.

~/~\~

"Needed a minute?" Dean asked, his voice dripping with irritation.

"You don't have to say it, Dean." Sam reached for the hex bag.

"Oh, I'm gonna say it. She played you."

"She played us." Sam corrected defensively. "And she's scared."

"Yeah, well, she better be," Dean muttered. "Come on. You're, like, 8-feet tall. You can't reach that?"

"I almost got it." Sam strained to reach. "Okay, got it, got it. All right." He stood up and passed the hex bag to Dean.

Dean pulled a lighter from his pocket and ignited the hex bag, freeing them from the spell. "All right, let's go kill some witches." He tossed the burning hex bag to Sam, who avoided it. "You want that?"

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela entered the Plum sisters' home with their guns drawn.

"Rowena!" Angela yelled.

"Wonderful!" Rowena yelled back. "I've been stalling them until you arrived."

"Hey, lovebug," Jamie smirked at Dean. "Can't introduce you to Mom right now. She's busy. How 'bout that kiss I owe you?"

Dean cocked his gun. "Sure."

"Guns. Okay, super scary." Jennie replied condescendingly.

"Witch-killing bullets." Dean corrected.

The girls looked at each other and in unison swung their arms to cast a spell. "Moveantur!"

Sam, Dean, and Angela were flung in opposite directions of the room, crashing into furniture with grunts of pain. Jamie picked up a knife from the table and started attacking Dean while Jennie attacked Sam and Angela with a hammer.

"Sammy! Angie!" Dean called out. "They're really weirdly strong."

"I think it's probably the spell," Angela grunted.

Jennie laughed. "You think?"

Jennie flung Sam and Angela across the room and they crashed into a coffee table. Jennie moved to attack but Dean got the upper hand on Jamie and pinned her against a wall.

"Jennie!" Jamie called out.

Jennie turned her attention to helping her sister and hit Dean in the back of the knee with a hammer.

"Uhh! Aah!" Dean groaned. "Son of a…"

"Magic won't work on this abomination!" Rowena called from the kitchen. "Got any suggestions?! Quickly!"

"Try shooting her in the head!" Dean yelled.

"No!" Jamie cried.

Sam and Angel continued to fight with Jennie and Rowena fell into the entryway with the zombie on top of her. Rowena spotted Dean's gun and struggled to reach it. Rowena managed to reach the gun and fired it into the zombie's head.

"Mom!" Jennie exclaimed as the zombie fell to the floor with a thud.

"Impetus Bestiarum!" Rowena chanted.

The girls immediately stopped their attacks on the Winchesters and their eyes turned red.

"Rowena," Dean warned.

"End it." Rowena sneered spitefully.

The girls turned towards each other, blood running from their eyes. Jamie stabbed Jennie with her knife and Jennie hit Jamie with her hammer. They continued to exchange blows until they fell to the floor, dead. The Winchesters looked on with bewildered looks as Rowena looked on with satisfaction.

~/~\~

Rowena was paging through the Black Grimoire. "You really thought after all that, I was going to try to kill you?"

"Yeah, you double-crossed us." Sam reminded.

"Triple-cross, actually," Rowena corrected. "So I ended up on your side, and we defeated the villains, just as I planned."

"Yeah, not buying that." Sam scoffed.

"And that book?" Angela added. "You're either going to give it to us or we can take it, either way."

Rowena looked up at Sam with pleading eyes and whispered, "You know what I've seen, what it's like. Lucifer may be locked away, but he'll be back. He always comes back. And when he does… I can't be helpless again. I need the spell."

Sam, with a look of understanding, still took the book from Rowena and she walked out.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam was opening two beers while Dean and Angela sat at the kitchen table. Angela had a diet soda and was icing Dean's injured knee. The Black Grimoire was lying on the table.

"Can't believe I feel for a love spell," Dean complained. "And I got clocked by a witch with a hammer."

"And zombie mom," Sam added as he handed Dean a beer. "Those are the details that sell the story."

"No, yeah, yeah. Getting beat up by a girl, that's a story I wanna tell someone."

"Girls beat us up all the time." Sam shrugged.

"Dean, I could beat you up." Angela teased.

Dean nodded in agreement and sipped his beer. "Mm. True. Hey, Sam, you know that Rowena is not our friend, right?"

Sam leaned against the counter and nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Hmm." Dean opened the Black Grimoire to where a page was missing. "So what's this? You gave her the page. She got in your head, man."

"She didn't get in my head," Sam whispered.

"Look, what happened to Rowena was messed up, okay? But you just let the deadliest witch in the world walk away with a page from this book." Dean lectured.

"Yeah, and if Rowena breaks bad, I will hunt her down myself and put a bullet in her. I will." Sam promised. "But if she's right, and if she does see Lucifer again, then… I hope she makes him suffer."

"You gotta get out of this dark place. You know, whatever's going on in your head…"

"Dean."

"What?"

Sam inhaled deeply. "You know what? Honestly?"

"Yeah, how 'bout honestly." Dean nodded.

"I know what Rowena is dealing with," Sam admitted. "And she's not the only one who… feels helpless."

Angela stood up and walked over to Sam, taking his hand in hers. "What do you mean, baby?"

"I mean, I had a plan, you know. I, uh… Help Jack, bring Mom and Robert back. It wasn't much, but it was something. It—it kept me from spinning off the rails. And now… Jack is gone, Mom and Robert are still in hell, basically, and I-I-I just…"

"We'll figure it out, Sammy," Angela whispered.

"Angie, we don't have a plan," Sam replied defeatedly. "We don't know what to do. So—so how?"

"I don't know," Angela admitted. "But we will. You, me, and Dean, together."

"Yeah," Sam whispered, unconvinced.

"How about we go to bed?" Angela suggested and Sam nodded. "Okay. Goodnight, Dean. Keep icing that knee."

"Night," Sam mumbled before he and Angela left.

Dean sighed deeply and flipped the Grimoire closed.


	24. Devil's Bargain Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam, Dean, Angela, Castiel, and Grace sat at the table in the library.

"Let me get this straight," Dean started. "You were kidnapped, weeks ago, locked up. Cas, I _just_ talked to you on the phone."

"No. No." Castiel sighed. "Asmodeus had my phone. You've been talking to him."

"What did he want with you?" Angela questioned.

"Well, he must have wanted Lucifer. I just, I just happened to be in proximity."

"Lucifer?" Sam's face fell visibly and Angela grabbed his hand. "No. No."

"No, no, we slammed his ass back to Apocalypse World, how did—

"Kevin Tran." Castiel interrupted.

"Kevin Tran." Dean echoed.

"Apocalypse World version, yes. We managed to open a rift using Lucifer's grace."

Sam's brows furrowed. "They have an angel tablet?"

"Yes. And the archangel, Michael, again the Apocalypse World version, wants to use the spell to invade and conquer our world. That's why I met with Lucifer." Castiel explained.

"So… You met… Cas, I _specifically_ told you not to do anything stupid." Dean lectured.

"Well, he was weak and given the context of our imminent annihilation it didn't seem stupid." Castiel rationalized. "Lucifer wanted to help find Michael."

"Oh yeah, Lucifer wanted to help, sure." Angela scoffed.

"If he were lying I'd have known it. He was, he was scared. But Asmodeus showed up before we could finish our conversation and when we finally managed to escape Lucifer did try to kill me."

"Oh, so much for helping," Dean muttered.

"He say anything about our mom and Robert?" Sam asked.

"They're alive," Castiel informed. "That's all I know. I'm sorry."

~/~\~

Dean walked into the main room carrying the demon tablet.

"It's a long shot at best," Castiel commented, holding Grace in his arms.

"Yeah, well, most of what we do are long shots, you get used to it." Dean shrugged. "Cas, I'm sorry. All that time you were with Asmodeus, I should have known it wasn't you."

"No, he's a shapeshifter. Besides, I was the one who got myself captured."

"Yeah, but if we knew, you know we would have—

"Yeah, I know you would have tried another long shot." Castiel interrupted. "I'm fine, Dean."

"You sure about that?" Dean quirked a brow.

"Right now, all that matters is getting Jack, your mother, and Angela's father out of that place. Okay?" Castiel replied. "Look, I promised Kelly that I would protect her son. I intend to keep that promise."

The door to the bunker opened and Sam, Angela, and Donatello walked in.

"Hey, there he is. Donny, how you doing?" Dean asked.

"Uh, the usual. Bewildered." Donatello sighed.

"Right, cool. So here's the plan. We nab Lucifer."

"If he is as weak as Cas says, then the angel cuffs should work on him," Angela added.

"Yeah, maybe." Castiel nodded.

"Well, maybe is all we got," Dean replied. "So, we grab Satan, we use his grace to open a door between the two universes, okay? Then we get Mom and Robert, and we get Jack, and then we get out. Slam the door before Michael follows us and destroys our universe. Now it's gonna be harder than it sounds."

"And so the spell to open this rift is in the angel tablet," Donatello replied.

"Yeah, they are—um—on Earth 2," Sam answered. "Except—

"Except we don't have the angel tablet anymore." Castiel finished.

"No, we don't. But we do have the demon tablet." Sam uncovered it and Donatello picked it up.

"We thought it might mention the spell as well, because it, too, is the word of God."

"And since you speak God, we figured it was right up your alley. So, give it a swing." Dean told Donatello.

"These glyphs are nearly impenetrable." Donatello frowned.

"Great. Um… is there anything we can get you, or uh—

"Chicken wings," Donatello answered quickly.

"Excuse me?" Dean's brows shot up.

"Chicken wings," he repeated. "Heavy lifting like this requires real brain fuel. My analysis of the half-lives of the 33 arsenic isotopes, about, oh, 25 buckets."

Suddenly, Castiel heard a loud ringing and groaned in pain.

"Cas, you alright?" Angela asked in concern.

"It's angel radio," he answered. "A vessel was found last night, mutilated."

"Wait… who's killing angels?" Donatello asked.

~/~\~

Sam and Angela were in their room packing their duffel bags when Angels felt a pain in her abdomen. She winced slightly, and Sam noticed.

"Angie, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Just felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. I'm fine, though."

Sam's brows furrowed in concern. "Do you think it's a contraction?"

"No," Angela shook her head. "It can't be. I still have a month left. It's gotta be Braxton Hicks or something."

"Maybe you and Gracie should stay here," Sam suggested. "You could be going into early labor."

"Sam," Angela rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Like I said, it's probably Braxton Hicks."

~/~\~

_Monroe City, Missouri_

Sam and Angela approached a homeless man, Time, flashing their FBI badges.

"Excuse me, sir?" Angela asked. "Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"Yeah, no, I'm kind of working here," Tim replied.

"I'll tell you what, we'll be quick. I promise." Sam assured. "Just tell me, have you ever seen this man?" he showed Tim a picture of Lucifer.

"Actually, we had a lovely chat." Time nodded. "He was curious about this faith healer I'm saving up to see. She's gonna fix this leg right up. Sister Jo."

"Did he, uh, believe in her?" Angela questioned.

"Not at first, but after I described her skills, he was very supportive."


	25. Devil's Bargain Part 2

That night, Sam, Angela, Dean, Castiel, and Grace drove up to Elgin Hall in the Impala. The hunters and Castiel burst through the doors while Grace slept in the car. They all had their angel blades drawn and came face-to-face with Ketch.

Ketch chuckled lightly. "It's only you."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dean demanded.

"Do you we really have to do all of this again?" Ketch retorted. "Last time we were together I saved your lives and you shot me. Doesn't that make us even?"

"No, I guess not," Angela replied.

"Dean asked you a question," Sam reminded. "What are you doing here?"

"My sources tell me Lucifer's back, he's weak and he's—or was—in this wonderful little slice of Americana," Ketch explained. "I was going to try and kill him. As were you, I assume."

"Okay, who are you working for?" Angela questioned.

"Isn't it possible that I am simply trying to strike a blow for the good of humanity?"

"No," Castiel replied bluntly. "That's not possible."

"Truth be told, taking out Lucifer would be an enormous feather in the cap. My business model is very, um, word of mouth."

"Alright, so if Lucifer isn't here, where is he?" Sam asked.

"Ah, excellent question. I propose we team up," Ketch suggested. "Share intel. Cover more ground. Hmm? Huzzah!"

Castiel reached out and touched Ketch on the forehead, knocking him out.

~/~\~

Ketch was loaded into the trunk of the Impala and Dean slammed the trunk shut.

"Alright, I say we take dickbag back to the bunker and find out what he knows, put a bullet in him, and burn his bones and flush his ashes," Dean muttered.

"I like that plan." Castiel agreed.

"Hey, check this out," Sam showed a video of Sister Jo on his tablet.

"That's Sister Jo, the faith healer?" Angela raised her brows.

"No, that's not a, she's an angel. Her name is Anael." Castiel informed.

"Alright, so say Lucifer drained her and killed her, where's her body?" Sam asked.

~/~\~

Sam got an alert on his phone as Dean drove. "No way."

"What do you got?" Dean asked.

"So I set an alert up on my phone," Sam started. "It looks like Sister Jo just used her credit card."

"Where?" Castiel leaned forward from his spot in the back seat.

~/~\~

The Impala pulled up outside of the motel where Sister Jo and Lucifer were staying.

"This is it?" Dean asked.

"Yep, last place Jo or someone used her credit card," Sam answered. "Checked in last night."

"Do you think Lucifer is with her?" Castiel asked.

"Or she's dead. One way to find out." Dean muttered.

Angela turned in her seat slightly. "Gracie, stay here, okay? We'll be back. Do you have your coloring book?"

"Yeah." Grace nodded, pulling it out of her little backpack.

~/~\~

The hunters and Castiel stood outside of the motel, and Sam spoke to Sister Jo on the phone.

 _"Hello?"_ her voice rang through. _"My card? Of course, it's good."_

"Yeah, okay," Sam replied. "You know what, our system must be screwy. Do you mind bringing the card back so I can run it again?"

_"Okay. Just a minute."_

"Sure. I'll be here. That's great. Thank you." Sam hung up. "Well, good news, she's alive."

~/~\~

Sister Jo walked towards the motel office when Castiel stepped out.

"Anael."

"Castiel," she frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"We're going to ask you the same thing," Dean replied as he, Sam, and Angela appeared behind the angel.

"We're looking for Lucifer," Angela started. "Have you seen him? Do you know where he is?"

"Yes, he's in the room."

"Has he hurt you?" Castiel asked concernedly.

"Not yet," Sister Jo answered. "He's threatened. He wants to drain my grace."

"So he's still weak?" Sam raised a brow.

"Very," she nodded. "You have to help me."

"We will," Dean assured. "But first you're going to have to help us."

~/~\~

Lucifer was lying on the motel bed, reading the Bible. "Dad's been stealing my best lines, man."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Sister Jo spoke, "Lord Lucifer? Can you let me in? Sorry, I forgot my key."

"Lord Lucifer…" he chuckled as he got up. "I likey," he opened the door. "Booya."

"Morning, sunshine." Dean greeted.

"Sup, Gents? Angie." Lucifer greeted and turned around to see Castiel. "Ah… oh… Cas… You're alive. That's awesome." He muttered sarcastically.

"They made me." Sister Jo swallowed heavily. "They forced me to tell them how weak you still are."

"Well, great seeing you. It's been a long time. Eh, nice jacket there, Dean." Lucifer complimented. "Your hair, Sam, it's magnificent. Is that a leave-in conditioner you have there? And Angie, you're so… pregnant."

"We got this. Go." Sam whispered to Sister Jo.

"So what do we do now? You gonna kill me?" Lucifer asked.

"Mmm, eventually." Dean held up the angel cuffs.

Suddenly, Sister Jo attacked Sam and Angela while Lucifer got the jump on Castiel and Dean.

"We need to go!" Sister Jo told Lucifer.

"I just want to enjoy this for just a minute," Lucifer smirked devilishly. "That's good. That's really good."

Out of nowhere, Ketch showed up at the door with a demon bomb, and Lucifer and Sister Jo vanished.

~/~\~

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, did you just—

"No, they vanished before it went off," Ketch replied. "But you're welcome."

"Baby, are you okay?" Sam helped her up.

"Yeah," she grunted as another pain shot through her abdomen, this one a little stronger. "Aah!"

Sam's brows furrowed slightly. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," Angela shook her head. "Just another false contraction."

"Baby, I don't know if they're f—

"They have to be," Angela stressed. "I'm… the baby isn't ready to come out."

~/~\~

Sam helped Dean and Castiel up.

"Congratulations, you just helped Lucifer escape!" Dean glared at Ketch.

"Put another way, I opted out of my own escape and put myself in harm's way to save your lives. Again."

"Alright, alright." Angela sighed. "How did you get out of the trunk?"

"I'm Ketch." He shrugged. "I found the demon bomb in your weapons cache and I thought with Lucifer's weakened state it might make a dent."

"Well, it seems his weakened state may have been greatly exaggerated," Castiel muttered.

"Yeah, exactly, and Jo? What's the deal with her?" Sam scoffed.

"I don't know," Castiel shook his head. "In Heaven she was nothing. She was a low-level functionary."

"Yeah, well, now she's Satan's gal pal," Dean replied. "That's awesome."

"This may once again fall on deaf ears but I shall have another go," Ketch started. "Clearly Lucifer is more dangerous than we thought. I propose we pool resources and go after him together."

"Dude, why would we ever trust you?" Sam crossed his arms.

"Fine, as proof of my sincerity, I shall come clean. I'm working for Asmodeus. Happy?"

"Whoa, what? How is that supposed to make us feel better?" Dean snapped.

"It's not. It's supposed to present an opportunity. If I'm working for him then I can pass information on to you."

"Oh, right. And you would do that for us?" Castiel asked skeptically.

"For everyone. I know you think I'm a monster—

"Because you are." Dean interrupted.

"But even I must draw the line somewhere. And letting Lucifer free upon the Earth? Well, as it turns out, that's my line." Ketch continued. "Not to mention the whole Michael situation. I know you want to kill me. I know you can't forgive me but if you think about it, I'm the lesser of, well, at least three evils. All I ask if that you wait to murder me until after I prove useful. Hmm?"

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean, Sam, Angela, Castiel, and Donatello sat at the table in the bunker.

"So, Ketch, can we trust him?" Angela asked.

"Not even a little," Dean answered.

"Of course not," Sam agreed. "But we need him. For now."

"Right. And when we don't?" Castiel asked.

Dean cocked his gun and set it down. "Guess."

"Donatello?" Sam asked. "You're doing great. It looks like you made a lot of progress."

"It's like pulling friggin' teeth!" he yelled before he sobered himself up. "I'm… working my way through the ingredients."

"Right. Okay." Sam cleared his throat. "At least we know the spell we need is in there and we have a plan."

Angela shifted uncomfortably. "You know, I think a slight wrench has been thrown into our plan."

Sam's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean, baby?"

"I mean," she took a deep breath and groaned in pain. "My water just broke."


	26. Baby Winchester: Here We Go Again

Angela sat at the table in the library and groaned in pain again. Sam massaged her shoulders as Castiel set down a glass of water in front of the laboring woman.

"Thanks, Cas," Angela grunted.

"Just try and relax, baby," Sam cooed softly. "The doctor said that's the best thing you can do."

"And you're sure that she said it's not time to go to the hospital yet?" Angela asked as she rubbed her swollen stomach.

"I'm positive," Sam replied. "She said you're not in active labor yet."

Grace came barreling into the library with Dean hot on her heels. Grace was practically buzzing with excitement as she jumped up and down.

"Unca Dean told me!" Grace exclaimed. "Baby brother's coming!"

"Yes, he is, Peanut," Sam nodded. "But we have to let Mommy relax, okay? So let's use our inside voice."

"Okay." Grace nodded. "Sorry, Mommy."

"It's okay, sweet girl." Angela smiled softly. "I know you're excited. I bet he's excited to meet his big sister." She added as another contraction ripped through her, this time much more painful. "Oh, God!"

"Unca Cas, is Mommy okay?" Grace asked worriedly.

"She is," Castiel picked up the girl. "Having a baby can hurt, but she'll be okay."

"Sammy, they're getting closer," Angela whined in pain.

"I know, baby." Sam kissed her temple. "What can I do to help?"

"Can you just hold me?" she asked.

Sam nodded and wrapped his arms around his wife, stroking her hair. "I can do that, baby."

~/~\~

A few hours had passed, and Angela was pacing the room, rubbing her belly. "I'm going insane. I want this baby out of me."

"You were _just_ complaining about how it was too early." Dean reminded.

Angela sent her brother-in-law an icy glare and Dean shrunk down in his seat slightly.

"Yeah, well, clearly he's not waiting," Angela replied. "And no offense, but Winchester genes don't exactly allow for small babies."

"Sorry," Dean mumbled.

Angela doubled over in pain and Sam rushed to hold her up. This time, the contraction lasted for a few minutes longer than previously.

"All right," Sam started. "I think it's time to get you to the hospital. Dean, can you grab the go bag next to mine and Angie's bedroom door?"

Dean nodded and stood up, jogging towards the couples' room. Grace walked over and held one of Angela's hands.

"Mommy are you okay?"

"I'm okay, sweet girl," Angela grunted as the pain slowly subsided. "Cas, why don't you get Gracie to the car and get her settled?"

Castiel nodded and offered his hand to Grace, which she willingly took. The angel led his niece to the garage to get her into her car seat. Sam rubbed Angela's back and kissed her forehead.

"Are you ready to meet our little man?" he asked softly.

Angela nodded and took a deep breath. "I can't wait to meet him. I bet he's going to look just like you."

"I bet he's gonna be a momma's boy." Sam grinned.

"Yeah?" Angela smiled back at her husband. "Well, it's only fair. Gracie is a total daddy's girl."

Sam chuckled in response and started leading Angela towards the garage. "Come on, let's get you to the hospital so we can meet the little guy."

~/~\~

Angela was lying in the hospital bed and Sam sat in a chair next to her, holding her hand. Dean, Castiel, and Grace had to stay in the waiting room, much to Grace's dismay.

"All right, Mrs. Winchester," Dr. Callahan took her gloves off and stood up. "You're about 7 centimeters dilated."

"Is it common for the second birth to go faster than the first?" Angela inquired curiously.

"Very common," Dr. Callahan nodded. "I'll be back to check on you soon. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you." Sam nodded as the doctor left.

"Ugh, I feel nauseous," Angela complained before another contraction hit her. "Aah!" she squeezed Sam's hand tightly.

"Do you need a bucket, baby?" Sam asked gently.

Angela rode out the pain and nodded and she screwed her eyes shut. Sam held the bucket in front of her and she vomited into it, groaning in pain. Sam smoothed her hair back as she took a deep breath.

"You're doing great, Angie," Sam whispered. "You're so strong."

"Everything hurts." Angela whimpered.

"I know," Sam murmured. "I wish I could take away your pain."

Angela chuckled, which turned into a groan as another contraction hit. "I appreciate that Sammy, but I don't think you'd wanna feel like this."

"Yeah, well, if it would make you feel better, I would do it in a heartbeat," Sam replied as he massaged her abdomen.

~/~\~

A few more hours had passed and Dr. Callahan was performing another examination. She couldn't help the concerned frown that crossed her face and Sam noticed.

"Is everything okay?" Sam's brows furrowed.

"Mrs. Winchester, I don't want you to be alarmed," Dr. Callahan started calmly. "But we're going to have to perform an emergency C-section."

Angela's eyes widened and she felt another wave of nausea course through her. "What?! W-what's wrong? Oh, God—

"Mrs. Winchester, I know it's hard, but I need you to remain calm." Dr. Callahan stressed. "The baby is in fetal distress. I'm going to need to get you to surgery immediately."

"Don't worry, baby," Sam assured. "I'm coming with you."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Winchester," Dr. Callahan shook her head. "I need you to stay in the waiting room."

"What? No, you can't—

"Mr. Winchester, you cannot come into surgery with her." Dr. Callahan reiterated firmly. "I apologize, but it's for the safety of your wife and baby. I need you to go to the waiting room and I will prep Angela for surgery."

Angela had tears in her eyes and she looked up at Sam. "I-I'm scared. Sammy, what if he doesn't make it?"

"Hey, hey," Sam kissed her forehead. "Don't think like that. You and the baby will be okay."

"But—

"No buts." Sam interrupted. "I love you."

"I wish you could be in there with me." Angela murmured. "What if…Sammy what if I die?"

Sam swallowed nervously. "You won't. You've fought against monsters and lived. You won't die."

Angela nodded and wiped her eyes. "I love you, Sammy."

"I'll see you and little man after." Sam leaned down and kissed his wife deeply.

~/~\~

Sam walked into the waiting room, fear bubbling within him. Emergency C-sections were never good, and he couldn't survive losing Angela or the baby. Dean immediately noticed his brother's expression and stood up.

"What's wrong?"

"There was a complication," Sam whispered. "Angie needs an emergency C-section."

"What?" Dean's brows furrowed. "What sort of complication?"

"Dr. Callahan just said fetal distress," Sam answered, tears in his eyes.

Dean turned to Castiel. "Hey man, why don't you take Gracie to get a snack?"

Castiel noticed the brothers' expressions and nodded. "Grace, would you like a snack?"

"Yeah!" Grace nodded. "I want a cookie."

"Come on," Castiel offered his hand and led her to the cafeteria.

Once Grace was out of view, Sam broke down. "What if Angie doesn't make it? What if the baby doesn't—

"Hey." Dean held his brother's shoulders. "Angie and the baby are going to be fine. Angie has been through much worse, you know that."

"But in surgery, anything could go wrong, she could—she could bleed out, Dean," Sam stumbled over his words.

"She won't, Sammy," Dean stressed. "Angie's a fighter, man. You'll see her and the baby in a few hours, okay?"

"You can't know that."

"Yeah, I can." Dean shrugged. "Because I'm the oldest and I'm always right."

~/~\~

Hours passed and Grace was asleep in Castiel's lap. Sam nervously bit his fingernails and his leg bounced up and down.

"She hates when you do that," Dean commented.

"What?" Sam's brows furrowed.

"Angie hates when you bite your nails," Dean replied.

"I'm nervous," Sam mumbled.

Dean was about to reply when Dr. Callahan walked over. There was blood on her gown and Sam immediately thought the worst.

"Mr. Winchester," she started softly. "Angela and the baby are in recovery. The umbilical cord was wrapped around your son's neck, which caused the distress. But they're both doing great. You all can go up to see them, but please be quiet and careful."

Sam let out a relieved sob and stood up to hug the doctor tightly. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Grace quietly walked into Angela's room. Grace rubbed her eyes sleepily and Angela looked up when they all walked in. She was nursing her newborn son and smiled tiredly.

"Hey,"

"Hi, baby." Sam kissed her. "You're doing okay?"

"Better than okay." She murmured. "Look at him. He's beautiful."

"He's perfect." Sam's voice cracked slightly. "Gracie, come here. Come meet your brother."

Sam lifted Grace up and she looked at the baby boy in awe.

"He's so little." She whispered.

"You were that little once, Princess," Dean smirked.

"Really?" Grace's eyes widened.

"Yeah." Sam kissed her temple. "We have to be really careful with him and Mommy, okay?"

"Okay." Grace nodded. "Mommy does he have a name?"

Angela smiled and bit her lip slightly. "I do have a name idea that I like a lot. Depends if your daddy likes it, too."

"Let's hear it," Sam smiled.

"Henry Samuel Winchester," Angela revealed softly.

New, happy tears filled Sam's eyes. Not only did she want to name their son after his and Dean's grandfather, but him as well.

"You—are you serious?" Sam's voice cracked slightly.

"Mm-hmm." Angela hummed. "Named after two very strong men that I've had the pleasure of knowing."

"Kiddo, that's…" Dean breathed out in awe. "Sammy, that's the one. It's perfect."

"Do you like it, baby?" Angela looked up at her husband.

"I love it. Thank you." Sam kissed her passionately. "Welcome to the world, Henry."


	27. Good Intentions Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean, Angela, and Grace were sitting at the kitchen table while Sam poured some coffee for Angela. Dean was munching on bacon while Angela bottle-fed Henry and Grace ate her cereal.

"You are just the cutest little man," Angela cooed at her infant son.

"Mommy when can Henry play with me?" Grace questioned.

"Once he gets a little older and can move around a bit more," Angela answered. "Right now, he just sleeps and eats a lot."

"Oh." Grace nodded. "Did I do that?"

"Yes, you did." Angela smiled softly.

Sam set a mug in front of Angela, which she took gratefully. An upside of not being pregnant anymore? Angela could have all the coffee she wanted.

Sam glanced at Dean and scoffed lightly. "Don't you think you should, uh, take it a little easy on the nitrates?"

"Dude, if bacon's what kills me, then I win," Dean replied as he shoved another piece into his mouth as Castiel walked in.

"Cas, hey," Angela greeted. "How's Donatello?"

"He says he's making progress, but we still need archangel grace," Castiel replied. "We should be out looking for Lucifer."

"We are." Sam nodded.

"Look, we got word out to every hunter we know, okay?" Dean added. "If they see something Satan-y… they'll drop a dime."

"And Michael?" Castiel raised a brow. "If he succeeds in getting to our world first?"

"Cas, look," Sam sighed. "Right now, our best defense is a good offense."

"We'll give Donatello everything he needs to open that gate, then we stealth in, we get Mom, we get Robert, we get Jack, boom," Dean explained. "Family reunion. It's just gonna take some time."

~/~\~

Donatello ran into the library frantically yelling, "Eureka! Eureka! Eureka! Eureka! Eureka! Eureka!"

"You stroking out?" Dean asked.

"No, I-I cracked it!" Donatello exclaimed.

"What?" Castiel's brows furrowed.

"T-The spell. I-I finished the translation."

"What?" Sam scoffed in disbelief. "No way."

"Here's the ingredients. Whew! Running is hard."

"Okay, what are we looking at?" Angela asked as she adjusted Henry in her arms.

"Besides archangel grace."

Sam took the papers and looked over the ingredients. "Actually, that's not even in here. Maybe the spell on the angel tablet's different because this, oil of Abramelin, Angelica root, we—we have most of this stuff. Oh. Other than the—the hearts of Gog and Magog?"

"Sorry. What?" Dean asked.

"Um, they're—they're people. Kind of." Donatello replied. "Uh, something referred to as brothers, other times lands. Uh… you know how Bibles are. Too damn many translations."

"Wait, Gog and—and Magog… I'd—I'd heard rumors," Castiel commented. "But I didn't think they were human."

"Oh, yes. According to the tablet, they were ancient warriors who enslaved half the Fertile Crescent," Donatello explained. "Until some priests cast a spell to bind them away in 'a place without a place and a time without a time.'"

"Okay, so we're supposed to find these guys and cut out their hearts? How?"

"The—the demon tablet has very specific instructions on how to free them. These men are very dangerous."

"Then I'll do it." Castiel offered.

"I'll go with you," Dean replied.

"Excellent!" Donatello exclaimed. "And Sam, Angela, and I will stay behind to, uh, uh, assemble the other ingredients. Now, um… where do you keep your virgin lamb's blood?"

~/~\~

Dean was looking down from the balcony near the entrance as Castiel walked up the stairs.

"You ready?"

"Yeah." Castiel nodded.

"How are you holdin' up, Cas?" Dean questioned.

"I'm fine," Castiel answered curtly.

"No, I just mean with, you know, everything you've been going through," Dean replied. "And… I know you really wanna find Lucifer."

"No, it's not that," Castiel sighed. "It's about… well, it is that, but it's also I… Dean, I was—I was dead."

"Temporarily."

"And I have to believe I was brought back for a reason."

"You were," Dean assured. "Okay, Jack brought you back because we needed you back."

"Right." Castiel scoffed. "And how have I repaid him? I promised his mother that I would protect him, but now he's trapped in that place while Lucifer is here, who's… I mean, he's getting stronger and more powerful by the day. And if Michael really is coming, maybe I was brought back to help prepare."

Dean's brows creased together. "Prepare for what?"

"War," the angel answered grimly. "War is what Michael does."

"Well, then we do what we do. Whatever it takes." Dean clapped Castiel on the shoulder.

~/~\~

Sam walked in with a box of bottles and set them down while Angela put Henry down for a nap. Donatello stood at the table with the other ingredients.

"Okay, how are we looking?" Sam asked.

"We still need the Dead Sea brine and the, uh, wolfsbane," Donatello answered.

"On it," Sam replied before speeding out of the room.

~/~\~

Dean stood in a field with Castiel and looked around before fully turning to face the angel.

"Alright, field in the middle of nowhere. Check. What's next?"

"Well, Donatello said that Gog and Magog can only be killed by a weapon touched by God, so angel blade." Castiel passed one to Dean.

"Alright," he nodded. "Let's rock and roll."

"Zoh nuh ray nuh rah juh," Castiel chanted in Enochian. "Kohrahx oh. Ee zee zohp ah. Mah oh. Ee vee gee."

Dean and Castiel looked around the field when nothing happened.

"Well, Enochian's kinda tough," Dean started. "Maybe you got a word wrong."

"I don't get 'words wrong.'" Castiel retorted.

As they argued, Gog and Magog appeared from behind them. Dean and Castiel turned around to face them.

"I told you," Castiel muttered.

Dean broke out into laughter at Gog and Magog, who were dressed in armor and loincloths.

"This is serious," Castiel reprimanded.

Dean stifled his laughter. "Yeah, no, no, I-I-I know. But… they're wearing—they're wearing loincloths."

"Dean."

"Well met, fellows!" Gog spoke in ancient Canaanite.

"But where are their armies?" Magog asked.

"It's ancient—ancient Canaanite," Castiel told Dean. "They wanna know if we brought armies."

"Armies?" Dean echoed.

"To fight them."

"Whichever warrior releases us must face us in combat!" Gog exclaimed. "He—

"Or she—

"Why interrupt me?" Gog asked in frustration. "You always do this."

"Do what?"

"Contradict me!"

"W—what now?" Dean muttered.

"Uh, they're… arguing."

"Ah. Ask 'em where they got their loincloths." Dean joked.

"Dean." Castiel rolled his eyes.

"…as soon as we kill these fellows!" Magog exclaimed.

"Good! Good! Which shall we kill first?"

"I will kill the pretty one," Magog suggested.

"It's a furry diaper." Dean chuckled.

"Dean."

"They are equally pretty," Gog noted.

"The smaller one, then—

"Eh."

"Enough! You! Embrace your beautiful death!" Magog pulled out his sword and walked towards Dean.

"Uh, he just said that he's gonna—he's gonna—

"No, I got it," Dean interrupted the angel.

Magog swung his sword at Dean as Gog started fighting Castiel. Dean lifted the angel blade, but Magog easily shattered it with his sword.

"Cas! What the hell?!"

Castiel blocked Gog from stabbing him. "He said their blades were forged by a god!"

Magog kicked Dean to the ground and he bounced back up.

"Cool."

Dean continued to fight Magog, who threw him to the ground again. Magog tried to step on Dean but he moved out of the way and stood back up. Magog lunged at Dean, and he moved out of the way and picked up Magog's fallen sword. Meanwhile, Gog threw Castiel to the ground, and his angel blade fell from his hand. Magog approached Dean, who beheaded him with the sword.

Gog approached Castiel with his own sword and raised it. "I hate doing this! You are very beautiful!"

Dean came up behind Gog and stabbed him with the sword, killing him. "Forged by God, touched by God, same thing."

"Yeah. Apparently." Castiel sat up to look over Gog's body as sand and rock poured out. "Dean, we have a problem. He isn't human. He appeared to be a primitive beast formed of rock and sand."

Dean frowned. "That's a thing?"

"Yeah. A very old thing. I thought they had gone extinct during the flood."

"So what does this mean for us?" Dean asked.

"It means… they don't have hearts."

~/~\~

Sam was mixing ingredients at the table when Donatello walked in behind him. Sam's phone was on the other table, vibrating as Dean called. Donatello watched Sam and pressed the 'decline call' button.

"Okay, I think that's everything," Sam commented.

Donatello picked up a bottle and walked up behind Sam. "Almost."

Donatello hit Sam over the head and the tall man fell to the floor. Angela walked in and saw the commotion.

"What the hell?!" she pulled out her gun.

Donatello charged at Angela and hit her over the head with the bottle.


	28. Good Intentions Part 2

The bunker was completely trashed when Dean and Castiel walked down the stairs.

"Sam? Angie!" Dean called out.

"Yeah, we're right here!" Angela replied.

"Tried to get a hold of you guys."

"Yeah, well, um, we've been a little busy, Dean. Sorry." Sam muttered.

Dean and Castiel walked through the war room and into the library. They saw Sam and Angela at the table, each of them holding ice packs to their heads.

"What happened?" Castiel asked in concern.

"Donatello happened," Angela answered. "He… attacked us."

"The Muppet professor attacked you guys?" Dean raised his brows. "Why?"

"We better show you," Sam replied. "Come here."

~/~\~

Sam, Angela, Dean, and Castiel were watching Donatello through the camera in the dungeon on Sam's laptop.

"He attacked us," Sam started. "We didn't wanna hurt him, but he—he just kept on coming at us, and… biting. So we had to lock him up in there. We were prepping the spell, and he just snapped."

"Yeah, I think it's all a setup," Dean muttered.

Angela's brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Gog and Magog, they can't be part of the spell," Castiel informed.

"Cause they don't have hearts," Dean added.

"Wait a second," Sam frowned. "Then why did he…"

"Because Donatello wanted them to kill us. He wants us dead." Castiel answered.

~/~\~

Donatello was tied to a chair in the dungeon while Sam, Angela, and Dean stood in front of him.

"Donnie," Dean folded his arms across his chest. "What happened, man? I thought we were friends."

"Friend?" he scoffed. "I see how you all look at me. Covetous. Well, God didn't choose you for this part, Dean. He chose me."

"Donatello, whatever it is you're feeling, whatever it is you're going through, you can fight this," Sam assured.

Donatello laughed darkly. "I don't wanna fight it. I…" he looked at Dean. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Sorry about that," he shrugged.

"Was it the tablet that—that did this to you or—

"It didn't do anything to me. I translated the tablet." Donatello explained. "All of it! I saw the power of God! It's all up here. And you wanna take it from me."

"No, we don't." Angela shook her head. "That's not true. We—we just wanna help you."

"No. You just brought me here to use me and get your precious spell back." Donatello scoffed. "You're wasting your time. And if it's a little magic you wanna be seein'…" he trailed off. "Suffocetur." He flicked his hand towards Dean.

"Donatello, listen, we…"

Dean started struggling for breathed and reached out to Sam and Angela as he choked.

"Dean?" Angela frowned.

"Dean! Hey, hey! Hey! Hey!" Sam exclaimed worriedly.

Donatello laughed maniacally as Sam and Angela led Dean out of the dungeon. Castiel approached as the couple checked on Dean.

"Dean! Dean!"

"I'm okay," he regained his breath. "I'm okay."

~/~\~

Dean, Sam, Angela, and Castiel walked into the room Donatello had been working in.

"Alright, what else do we know?" Dean asked as they looked through his notes. "Besides all work and no play makes Donatello a homicidal boy?"

"Maybe—maybe something in the—the tablet snapped him," Sam suggested.

"No, no." Castiel shook his head. "Prophets are conduits. Whatever's in the tablets should just flow through them. I heard of one who was tempted once, but never fully corrupted."

"Well, Kevin translated it, and it was hard on him, sure, but he—he never went full-on psycho," Dean recalled.

"Okay, so what was different about Donatello?"

Angela frowned in realization. "He doesn't have a soul."

"What?" Castiel's brows shot up.

"Is that bad?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, that's bad." Castiel nodded. "Theoretically, the—the human soul would act as a filter inoculating the prophet against whatever darkness is in the tablet."

"Alright. Um, well, how do we fix him?" Angela asked.

"I don't think we do."

"Okay. Hold on—

"We were so close." Sam shook his head. "We almost had it."

Dean frowned deeply. "What are you talkin' about?"

"Our plan, Dean. The spell, get Mom and Robert back. Donatello's soul is gone. That's not just something you come back from."

"You did." Dean reminded.

"Yeah, because you convinced Death to get my soul back from the cage, but Amara ate Donatello's soul. There's nothing to get back. It's gone."

"And Donatello's already corrupted," Castiel added. "I… perhaps the kindest thing to do would be to end his suffering."

"What?" Angela frowned.

"I don't like it either," Castiel stressed. "But if Donatello's life ends, then another prophet comes into being and they can finish the translation."

"So what, you just wanna kill him?" Dean asked.

"No! No killing!" Sam snapped. "We just need the spell."

"Fine." Castiel started to walk out of the room.

"Cas," Dean sighed.

"What are you doing?" Angela asked in concern.

Castiel walked down the hallway towards the dungeon and the hunters followed.

"What I have to," the angel answered.

"Hey!" Dean exclaimed.

"Cas!"

Donatello was still tied to the chair when Castiel walked in and locked the door behind him.

"Cas!" Dean banged against the door.

"Cas! Come on, let us in!" Angela pleaded.

"Cas! Oh, come on." Sam groaned.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela listened through the door in shock as Donatello screamed in pain.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela were standing in front of the door as it unlocked and slowly opened. They saw Castiel putting his trench coat on, with Donatello passed out in the chair.

"Cas?" Dean asked as the angel walked towards them.

"Well, I know what we have to do," Castiel muttered grimly.

As the angel walked past them, the hunters walked into the dungeon to check on Donatello.

~/~\~

Castiel was pacing as Sam, Dean, and Angela walked inside the bunker and down the stairs.

"Well?" Castiel looked up.

"Well… guess you could say Donatello is alive." Sam scoffed lightly.

"You told me not to kill him," Castiel reminded.

"Yeah, but, Cas, you turned him into… he's brain dead," Angela replied. "Machines keeping him breathing."

"What is wrong with you?" Dean demanded.

"Nothing." Castiel narrowed his eyes.

"Cas—

"His soul was gone. He was corrupted," the angel stressed. "He was a danger to himself and you and to all of humanity. Did you know that he was working with Asmodeus?"

"What?" Sam asked in disbelief. "No."

"Not by choice, but he was. Some people just can't be saved."

"Yeah, but who gets to make that choice?" Dean asked. "You? What exactly gives you the right?"

"Nothing," he answered. "I took it. And if I hadn't acted, we would still be sitting around talking about what to do next. We would be wasting time. And it's time we don't have, Dean. I told you, war is coming. War." He reminded. "And I did what soldiers do. Now we needed the spell to open the rift, and I got it. We need four major ingredients. The grace of an archangel, a fruit from the Tree of Life, the Seal of Solomon, and the blood of 'a most holy man.' We find those things, we can bring everybody home. And together, we can beat Lucifer and Michael. This is the only way we win, and this is the only way we survive. It's like you said, Dean. Whatever it takes."


	29. A Most Holy Man Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam and Angela were sitting at the kitchen table. Grace was playing with Henry, who was nearing four months now. Dean walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge.

"So?"

"What?" Sam asked as he looked at his laptop.

"You guys find anything on the Seal of Solomon?"

"Well, we've been digging through the lore, but so far, nothing." Angela sighed.

"Great. So we got Cas in Syria dodging bullets, trying to find fruit from the Tree of Life," Dean started. "We don't know where Lucifer is, so we can't get grace from an archangel. And uh, what's the last ingredient of this spell we're never gonna find?" he sat down across from the couple with a box of pizza.

"Blood of a most holy man," Sam answered.

"A most holy man," Dean repeated. "What—what—what does that even mean?"

"No idea." Angela shrugged. "Maybe blood of a saint?"

"A saint?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, should be easy to get," Dean muttered sarcastically.

"Well, actually, uh, turns out there's a huge market for religious relics," Sam noted. "Hair of a martyr, um, nails from the True Cross."

"Okay, okay. One, ew." Dean grimaced. "Two, where is this market?"

"Online," Sam replied.

"Ah. The internet. Not just for porn anymore." Dean took a large bite of pizza.

"Dude," Sam nodded to his kids playing nearby. "Keep it PG."

"Anyway, a lot of this is fake, obviously," Angela commented. "But, we did find one dealer who seems legit—Margaret Astor. Worth a shot?"

"Yeah. Good. Why not? I don't think I can take another one of these cold pieces of Papa Giovanni's." Dean put the slice back and closed the box.

~/~\~

_San Francisco, California_

In the fancy restaurant, Margaret was sitting at a table sipping on a martini. Sam, Dean, and Angela approached her. Angela held Grace's hand as she held Henry on her hip.

"Miss Astor?" Dean inquired.

"Miss will do." Margaret corrected.

"Of course," Sam nodded. "Great. Uh, may we sit?"

"Please," the fiery redhead nodded. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Okay, we, um, we're interested in obtaining a very rare religious artifact," Sam started. "And—and we were told that maybe you'd be the person to help us out."

"Really?" Margaret quirked a brow.

"Yeah."

"Who told you that?"

"The internet." Dean chimed in with a smile.

"So… this is not a personal recommendation?" Margaret frowned.

"No. Um, is—is that a problem?" Sam stammered slightly.

"Personal relationships are very important to me," she reached across the table and placed her hand on Sam's clasped ones.

Sam jumped a little and Angela narrowed her eyes, jealousy bubbling inside of her. Dean glanced at Angela warily as Margaret removed her hand.

"Right," Sam cleared his throat. "Well, um… I would personally appreciate any help you could give us." He reached over and gently placed a hand over Margaret's.

"Oh no," Dean muttered.

Angela clenched her jaw and adjusted Henry in her arms.

"What sort of help do you need?" Margaret smirked.

"We need, um… the blood of a saint," Sam replied in a hushed voice.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"What ever for?" Margaret asked.

"Does it matter?" Angela snapped in annoyance.

Margaret eyed Angela. "I was asking…" she looked at Sam.

"Sam," he replied.

"Sam," Margaret smirked at Angela.

Angela and Margaret looked at each other for a few moments before Margaret turned her attention to Sam.

"So, Sam, what can you tell me?"

"Unfortunately, not very much," he replied. "Just that it's very, very important to us. To me."

"Well, of course it is. Blood of a saint—very rare, very expensive. It just so happens I might know one person who would have such an item. Do I dare give you the name?"

"Please," Sam replied. "I would be very much in your debt."

"Well, that's lovely. But know, Sam… I like to collect on what's owed to me." Margaret smirked devilishly.

"I'm sure you do," Angela grumbled.

Margaret glared at Angela once more before looking back at Sam. "His name is Richard Greenstreet. He lives in Seattle. I'll provide an introduction, but that's as far as I'll go."

"Perfect. Thank you." Sam smiled sincerely.

"Oh, don't thank me yet," Margaret warned. "Greenstreet has all the trappings of a gentleman, but… I would advise caution."

With that, Angela stood up and walked off with her son in her arms and Sam swallowed nervously, knowing he was in trouble.

"Why is Mommy mad?" Grace whispered to Dean.

"Your Daddy made a really big oopsie," Dean muttered. "Didn't you, Sammy?"

Sam glanced at Dean and huffed. "Shut up. I know."

~/~\~

_Seattle, Washington_

Greenstreet sat at his desk eating a donut as the hunters watched him. Grace held Sam's hand and Angela held Henry.

"Your names again?" Greenstreet questioned.

"This is Sam. I'm Dean Vaughn. And this is Angela Kent." Dean introduced. "We're from Rhode Island."

"Rhode Island," Greenstreet repeated. "My, you are a long way from home. Do you happen to know the Manchin twins out of Newport?"

"The Manchin twins? Uh, well, we don't know them personally, but obviously, we know of them." Sam replied.

"Mm. Interesting." Greenstreet narrowed his eyes. "Because to the best of my knowledge, there are no Manchin twins from Newport. So who are you really?"

Dean sighed heavily. "This is Sam and Angela. I'm Dean Winchester. We were told that you might have something that we need."

"What might that be?"

"Blood of a saint," Angela answered.

"Blood of a saint. Why… yes. I do believe I possess such an item." Greenstreet smirked. "Cost me a small fortune to obtain."

"Right. We need some for a worthy cause." Sam replied.

"I gave up on worthy causes years ago. And as I said, the blood cost me a fortune. Judging by your Montgomery Ward suits and your cheap ties, I'm guessing you don't have a small fortune, or for that matter, two nickels to rub together. So, I'm quite afraid this has been a waste of your time, and more importantly, mine. Good day."

Greenstreet went back to eating his donut while the hunters turned to leave.

"Wait," Greenstreet stopped them. "I supposed we can be of service to one another. Since you had the nerve to come in here under false pretenses, I assume you won't be above a little bit of chicanery. Hmm?"

"We're listening," Angela replied.

"Sit," Greenstreet commanded, and the hunters did so. "A short while ago, a valuable item that I covet was removed from its ancestral home in Malta. I believe the thief was working for a man named Santino Scarpatti."

"Scarpatti, the mob boss?" Dean raised his brows.

"You've heard of him."

"I've heard enough to know he kills people."

"Oh, yes. I suppose he does." Greenstreet shrugged. "In any case, here is my proposal—you procure said item for me, and I will trade it for the blood."

"And what kind of item is it that we're talking about?" Sam questioned.

"The skull of St. Peter."

"Okay… we steal the skull from the head of the Seattle mob," Dean recapped. "In exchange, you'll give us the blood of…"

"St. Ignatius. Hmm. That's correct."

"Yeah. We can do that. No problem." Dean shrugged. "What else can you tell us?"

"Rumor has it, the skull is supposed to be turned over tomorrow night. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the thief or where the meet is supposed to take place."

"That's not a lot to go on," Angela replied.

"I have faith." Greenstreet smiled.

~/~\~

The hunters left Greenstreet's home and Angela started loading the kids into the car.

"So, this is what we've come to? Thieves?" Sam scoffed.

"Hey, you want the blood, right?" Dean asked. "Well… besides, the thing's already stolen."

"Really? That's your rationale?"

"Hey, Dean isn't perfect," Angela folded her arms across her chest. "And by the way, neither are you, okay? Or me, for that matter. You flirted with a woman right in front of me and our kids, now you're above a little chicanery?"

"Baby—

"Don't 'baby' me." Angela cut him off. "Look, this isn't a perfect world we're trying to save, okay. And if we're not perfect trying to save it, then so be it. Come on."

"Dude, you are so in the doghouse," Dean warned.

"Yeah." Sam agreed.

~/~\~

Dean was at the café counter with coffee. He turned around to see a woman at the table behind him, reading.

"Watcha readin'?" Dean walked over to her.

The woman looked up and smiled, showing Dean the book. "A book on the supernatural."

"Really?" he smirked. "So, you're into the supernatural."

"I am."

"I should sit down." Dean flirted.

The woman laughed as Dean was about to sit down.

"Dean. Hey." Sam waved him over.

"Excuse me," Dean told the woman, disappointed.

"Sure." She nodded.

Dean walked over to Sam, Angela, Grace, and Henry were sitting and sat across from them.

"We got it," Sam told his brother.

"Nice timing," Dean muttered in annoyance. "What?"

"Alright, so get this," Sam started. "So, I hacked into airline records and checked the names of anybody and everybody who traveled from Malta to Seattle in the first three days after the skull was stolen. There were five people. The fifth guy named, uh… Antonio Miele. What little past we could dig up on him seems… checkered."

"Sounds a little thin, but you wouldn't happen to know where this Miele guy is right now, would you?" Dean asked.

"As a matter of fact, we do," Angela answered. "He checked into the Patricia Hotel right here in downtown Seattle yesterday."

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela walked into the hotel lobby. Sam held Henry while Grace held onto Angela's hand. As they walked to the elevator, a man exited and bumped into Sam.

"Excuse me. I…" Sam trailed off as the man looked at him and walked away. "Alright."

~/~\~

Dean walked down the hallway as Sam, Angela, and Grace followed. They got to the room they were looking for and the door was ajar. Sam opened the door to see the room was trashed. Sam knelt down and handed Henry to Grace.

"Hold your brother carefully and turn around," Sam instructed. "Be careful."

Grace nodded and did as she was told.

"Hey," Dean waved Sam and Angela over.

"Oh." Sam frowned.

They looked to the side of the bed and saw a man's body on the floor.

"Well, rest in peace, Antonio Miele," Angela muttered.

"What the hell happened here?" Dean muttered.

Suddenly, a gun cocked behind them.

"Hands up," a man ordered. "No sudden moves."

Sam, Dean, and Angela stood up with their hands raised, turning around to see the cop had a gun and badge in his hands.

"Take it easy, take it easy," Dean replied calmly. "Hold on just a second."

"Move towards the window," the man commanded.

"Yep, yep. Of course." Sam nodded as they did so.

"Now sit down. And cuff yourselves to the radiator."

The man threw three pairs of cuffs on the ground. Sam, Dean, and Angela sat down and cuffed themselves to the radiator. Angela glanced over to see Grace still turned around and holding Henry as the man started searching around the room.

"You know there's a dead body over there," Dean noted.

"I see him."

"What department are you with?" Angela questioned.

"Shut up," the man snapped.

"Where's your partner?" Angela pressed.

"I work alone. I said shut up!"

"Maybe you should call this in," Dean suggested.

"I said shut up!" the man walked over and pointed a gun at Dean's head. "I'm gonna go call this in right now. Don't you three go anywhere."

The man laughed at his own joke as he left the room.

"You see that badge?" Dean scoffed. "It's like he got it out of a cereal box."

"Yeah. Gun looked real enough, though." Angela replied.

"I don't think he's coming back, but he's probably is calling it in, so…" Dean trailed off as Sam took out keys to open the cuffs with. "Look at you. You're like a Boy Scout. You're always prepared."

"Yeah. You're like, uh…" Sam pursed his lips. "I don't know what you're like."

"Yeah. Thanks." Dean deadpanned.

Sam opened their cuffs and they all stood up.

"Gracie, you guys okay?" Angela asked.

"Uh-huh," the little girl nodded.

~/~\~

The Winchesters exited the elevator and walked through the lobby. The man Sam had bumped into earlier was now sitting in the lobby, reading the newspaper.

~/~\~

"Alright," Dean started as they walked down the street. "So if the dead guy on the floor up there, Miele, was the original thief, then who killed him?"

"Don't know," Angela sighed. "Maybe Greenstreet got to him before we could. In that case, he probably has the skull."

"Well, then who's the fake cop?" Dean questioned. "Who does he work for?"

"Scarpatti?" Sam suggested.

"No, he was still looking for something. Why would Scarpatti whack the guy before he finds the skull?"

"Whack?" Sam scoffed.

"It's mob talk." Dean shrugged.

"Mob… Well, colorful." Sam muttered.

"Yeah."

They turned a corner and saw a group of mob guys standing near the Impala. Angela held Henry protectively and stepped in front of Grace.

"Can I help you, fellas?" Dean asked.

"Mr. Scarpatti wants to see you," the main mob man replied.

"I think we'll pass," Dean replied.

"Yeah, that, uh, wasn't a request," the man replied as another mob guy took his gun out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sam frowned. "Okay, okay, okay."

"I'll drive," the man smirked.

"I don't think so." Dean glared.

"Again, not a request."

Angela gave Dean a look. "It's good."

"Come on," the man urged.

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it." Sam replied.

Sam sat in the back of the Impala and Grace climbed onto his lap. Angela sat next to him holding Henry while Dean handed over the keys.

"Nice car."

"Yeah. Enjoy." Dean glared before he got into the back seat.

~/~\~

Scarpatti was sitting at his desk, petting his cat. Italian opera played as the mobsters led the Winchesters into the room.

"Sit. Sit." Scarpatti gestured. "So… Sam, Dean, and Angela Winchester. We, uh… we done a little checkin'. You know? And, uh… you know, officially… you three died six years ago."

"Well, it's a funny story. So—

"Hey, look, I-I don't care." Scarpatti interrupted Sam.

"Right."

"You know, my point is that, if you were to get whacked now… relax. If I wanted you dead… you got my point, right?" Scarpatti raised his brows.

"Yep." Sam nodded.

"Good. So, let's talk. Alright? I understand you made a deal with Greenstreet?"

"How do you know that?" Angela asked.

"I keep an eye on my enemies, sweetheart," Scarpatti answered. "Now… that was your first mistake, working for him. Greenstreet… he's—he's a farabutto. You know, a scoundrel. He's got no reverence for these sacred artifacts. He—he has no respect," he ranted. "Now me? You know, my motives are pure. I feel it's my duty as a good Catholic to give these beautiful relics a home."

"Well… technically, the relic had a home, and then you had it stolen." Dean corrected.

Angela cleared her throat and glared at Dean. Scarpatti and his mobsters laughed as they looked at Dean.

"Now why would you get involved with a man like Greenstreet?"

"He has something we need," Sam answered. "And the skull was our—our price we had to pay for it."

"It's a devil's bargain," Scarpatti warned. "Alright. So, I'm gonna tell you what you should know, okay? I made a deal with Miele. I paid half the price for the skull up-front and I agreed to give him the rest on delivery. But now he's dead. And believe me, I didn't kill him. So, the skull is missing. Now since I paid half of what was owed, I believe that skull rightfully belongs to me."

"But it was stolen," Dean reminded. "I don't know, 'rightfully belongs to you?'"

"You believe this guy?" Scarpatti asked his mobsters. "You got a set on you, pal. You talk to me like that in this room?"

"And?" Dean challenged.

"My point is, whatever the case is, you three now are in the middle of this thing, alright? So, I'm gonna make you a very nice proposition. You find my skull, and I will give you a handsome finder's fee. And then you can buy whatever it is you need to get from Greenstreet, okay?"

"And what if we say no?" Sam asked.

"That would be your second mistake. And believe me, you probably won't get a third."

"Great. Deal." Dean replied.

"Good. Very good."

"Now… what happens if we can't find the skull?" Angela asked.

"Sweetheart, as they say at NASA, failure… is not an option." He warned.

~/~\~

Sam and Dean walked through the front door of the hotel while Angela stayed in the car with the kids.

"Alright, tell me, why are we here again?" Sam asked.

"Gotta start somewhere." Dean shrugged. "Key to this whole thing is in that room. I can feel it."

"Oh. Oh, you can feel it? Why didn't you say so?" Sam replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

~/~\~

Dean walked around the corner as Sam followed, but stopped and hid behind the wall.

"What?" Sam frowned.

"Cop," Dean whispered.

"Great." Sam scoffed. "Any ideas?"

Dean noticed the fire alarm on the wall. "Stay here."

Dean pulled the fire alarm and walked away, leaving Sam to stand there. The cop at the door started getting people out of their rooms. Meanwhile, Dean walked to the lobby and pulled another alarm. He watched as people exited the hotel. Sam hid while the cops walked past and walked to the room once they were gone.

~/~\~

The room was still in the same amount of disarray as it was before. Sam started searching for the skull, lifting, and throwing things out of the way.

"Really, Dean? You can feel it." Sam scoffed.

Sam started searching the drawers and picked up a piece of paper from under the dressed. He read the numbers scrawled on it, but someone knocked him out with the telephone from behind. Sam fell to the ground, unconscious.


	30. A Most Holy Man Part 2

Dean opened the door to the hotel room. "Alright. We're good to go."

The older Winchester frowned when he saw Sam knocked out on the floor and rushed over to him.

"Sam? Sammy!" Dean checked his brother's pulse and sighed in relief.

~/~\~

Sam and Dean left the hotel and walked down the street.

"Sure you're not drowsy? How many fingers am I holding up?" Dean held up three fingers.

"I'm fine," Sam grumbled in annoyance.

"Okay, I'm just saying, you're taking a lot of shots to the head lately. I mean, I know that Disney Princess hair gives you some padding, but, uh…"

Suddenly, they heard noises coming from the alley and ran in that direction.

~/~\~

The man was lying on the ground, knocked out. Sam and Angela stood above him and Angela walked up to meet them there.

"Yeah, that's him," Sam confirmed. "Or at least, I think that's the guy."

"Alright, well, if he clocked you, then who clocked him?" Dean asked.

The man started to open his eyes and Sam gestured to Dean and Angela as the man woke up fully.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, Grace, and Father Lucca were sitting in the hotel lobby. Angela cradled a sleeping Henry while Dean went through the man's wallet. Meanwhile, Father Lucca held a cloth to the wound on his head.

"Where is it?" Dean demanded harshly, earning a confused look from Father Lucca.

"The piece of paper you took off me—where is it?" Sam interrogated.

"I don't… He took it," Father Lucca answered.

"He? He who?" Angela asked.

"The other man. I-I don't know. I didn't see his face."

"Great. That's awesome." Dean muttered sarcastically.

"Okay, okay," Sam sighed deeply. "Let's start from the beginning. Who are you?"

"My name… my name is Lucca Camilleri."

Dean showed Sam and Angela the wallet. "Uh, Father Lucca Caman…yeri."

"You're a priest?" Angela raised her brows.

"Si," Father Lucca nodded.

"Why are you here?" Sam asked.

"I'm searching for something."

"Let me guess—about yea big, used to be some holy dude's brain basket?" Dean asked.

"The skull of St. Peter," Father Lucca replied. "It was stolen from a nunnery, my parish, eight days ago. They asked me to get it back."

"Really?" Angela asked.

"Our local police can't handle something like this, and the sisters, they have faith in me."

"How's that working out for 'em?" Dean muttered.

"So, what?" Sam's brows furrowed. "You just thought you'd uh… come here and steal it back?"

"No," Father Lucca shook his head. "I was gonna buy it. Thieves only understand one thing—money—so, I-I-I brought money. All the money that we had." He gestured to his briefcase.

Dean picked up the briefcase and opened it up to see a lot of money in different currencies.

"My village is a small place," Father Lucca continued. "And Miele… when he vanished after the skull went missing, we all knew what he'd done. So, I followed him here."

"And killed him." Dean finished.

Father Lucca's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, mio Dio. No, I would never do that. When I arrived, he was already dead. I… and I didn't know what to do."

"So you hit me?" Sam scoffed.

"The skull was gone. When I saw you found something, I-I-I lost my head, okay? Look, that relic means everything to my congregation. And I understand that sounds strange to you, but… Imagine you woke up one morning, this thing you loved, this thing you and your parents and your children saw every week, this thing you prayed to since you were old enough to form words, was just gone. What would you do?"

"Try to get it back." Angela nodded in understanding.

"And I did. And I failed." Father Lucca replied. "And—and this never should've happened."

"Yeah, well, the world's a screwed place, padre," Dean replied. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"Change it." Father Lucca replied obviously.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Dean muttered.

"It's not about luck, son. It's about effort. All the time, I hear people saying the world's not perfect. And they're right. It's not. But do you use that as an excuse?" Father Lucca asked. "Do you use it to excuse your own sins? Your failings and your laziness? Do you use it to give a bad man power, because the world's not perfect? Or do you work? Do you try and improve things in whatever way you can? The world will never be perfect, but if good people do good things, it can be better. Every day can get better." He explained. "I-I'm sorry, I know I talk too much. I just… I just wanna go home."

"Without the skull?" Dean raised his brows.

"Yes."

"No." Sam shook his head. "What if we get the skull back for you?"

"Sam—excuse me," Dean started. "Can we talk… in private?"

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace got up and walked away, and Angela carried Henry.

"What?" Sam asked his brother.

"The hell are you doin'?" Dean demanded.

"We have to find it anyways." Sam shrugged.

"Yeah, and give it to Greenstreet and then get our fill up on Jesus juice."

"Or we get the skull back and then we arrange a meet and then…"

"What? Double-cross him?"

"Why not?" Angela asked.

Dean scoffed as Sam took out his phone.

"Okay, look," Sam started. "Look at this. Father Lucca Camilleri, born in Malta. He spent the last two decades of his life doing charity work all over the world—Africa, South America. He—he—he's a good guy. And what he said… I believe him."

"Great. So do I." Dean replied. "Bur Friar Tuck over there, we don't owe him anything. Guys, he sucker-punched you."

"And we get why," Angela replied. "I mean, if somebody stole the Impala, what would you do?"

"Murder," Dean replied quickly. "I'd murder 'em all."

Sam's brows furrowed slightly. "Right. Our point being, Angie and I don't want a dick like Greenstreet or Scarpatti to win. Not this time."

"There'll be torture first." Dean continued. "There'll be, like, a lot of torture, and then there'd—it would end up with death. If I can't have it, nobody can."

"Were you even listening to us?" Angela questioned. "Scarpatti and Greenstreet? What did Sam say?"

Dean was staring angrily at the couple and Sam waved his hands in front of Dean. Sam, Angela, and Grace walked away and Dean shook himself from his trance, following them.

~/~\~

"Alright," Dean started as he drove. "It's a party. The guy who jumped you—you remember anything about him?"

"No. I-I'm sorry." Father Lucca replied from the backseat.

"Okay, what about security cameras?" Angela asked.

"Nope." Sam shook his head. "There aren't any."

"Great." Dean scoffed. "So we got nothing."

"Wait," Father Lucca realized something. "We got the number on the paper."

"The what?" Dean's brows furrowed.

"SE-143382-IT99." Father Lucca recited.

"Wow. That's some memory." Dean muttered. "Okay, well, what is it? A combination? Coordinates, maybe?"

Sam looked up the number on his laptop. "No, no, no. It is, uh… it's a tracking number… for a package sent from Valletta, Malta, five days ago."

"Where is it now?" Father Lucca asked curiously.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Father Lucca watched from the Impala as the fake cop left the Express Couriers with the package.

"There he is," Angela muttered as he got in his car and drove away.

"That's fake cop," Sam added.

"Yes, it is." Dean pulled out of the parking lot and started to follow the car.

~/~\~

The fake cop's car pulled into a warehouse lot while the Impala pulled up outside.

"Why did he bring the relic here?" Father Lucca asked in confusion.

"Don't know," Dean answered. "Don't care. Alright, here's the play—we head in there and we kick fake cop's real ass."

"Yeah." Sam agreed. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Look at this."

They all looked out the window and saw another car pulling into the lot.

"What the hell?" Dean frowned.

A man got out of the driver's side and walked to the back of the car to open the door. Margaret Astor stepped out and looked around cautiously.

"Oh, Sammy, look, it's your girlfriend." Angela sneered.

Sam looked at his wife and swallowed slightly. "So much for simple."

~/~\~

Dean was sitting with Father Lucca, who was now in the passenger seat while the kids slept.

"You're worried." Father Lucca commented.

"You're not?" Dean raised a brow.

"I… God will see us through."

"Yeah, he really won't," Dean muttered.

"You're not a believer." Father Lucca replied.

"Oh, I believe. Hell, I know. God? He doesn't give a damn about you or me or anyone else. So, if you're expecting some sort of a-a miracle to happen, well… good luck."

"I'm sorry," Father Lucca started. "I didn't mean that God would reach down and protect us. Of course, that's not going to happen. But I believe that all good things are God's things. And what your brother and his wife are doing, it's a good thing."

"Yeah, or a stupid thing." Dean sighed heavily.

"Or both. Many times, they can be the same."

~/~\~

"Yeah, we got it," Sam grumbled as he and Angela were manhandled into the warehouse. "We got it. Just go easy."

The fake cop immediately took out his gun and aimed it at the couple.

"Whoa!" Angela put her hands up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take it easy. Easy. We're not here to fight."

"Then why are you here?" the fake cop demanded.

Sam held up a briefcase. "Just… may I?" he opened it to show them the money inside. "We're here to buy. So… let's make a deal. Okay? It's just business."

~/~\~

In the Impala, Dean could hear Sam's voice-over speaker. "They're in. Hey, Gracie?"

Grace stirred away and blinked a few times.

"We'll be right back, Princess. Just stay here, okay?" Dean whispered.

"'Kay Uncle Dean," Grace mumbled sleepily.

"Let's go." Dean nodded to Father Lucca.

~/~\~

Sam dropped the case on the table.

"Sam!" Margaret exclaimed. "So very, very good to see you again."

Sam gave her a fake smile and Angela stepped in front of Sam.

"Back off, bitch." Angela growled.

"I'm sorry," Greenstreet cut in. "I thought you were working for me."

"And I thought you were working for me." Scarpatti glared.

"Right, yeah." Sam pursed his lips. "Turns out we're working for us."

"I don't trust him." Greenstreet narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, I don't know," Margaret replied bashfully. "I'm quite fond of Sam. And besides, money's money. Hmm?" she took a piece of paper out and handed it to Sam along with a pen.

~/~\~

A guard was standing in front of the warehouse when Father Lucca approached him from behind.

"Pardon me," Father Lucca started.

"The hell are you doing here?" the guard turned to face him.

"Creating a distraction."

Dean came up behind the guard and covered his mouth. He took his gun, as he put him in a headlock, and started dropping him to the ground.

"Creating a distraction?" Dean asked.

"Lying, it's a sin." Father Lucca replied.

Dean dropped the unconscious guard to the ground and checked the guns for bullets.

"Is he okay?" Father Lucca asked.

Dean looked at the priest before walking away.

~/~\~

"Alright," Margaret started. "I wanna make this simple. I want each of you to think of your price, your very best price, and write it down on a piece of paper. The one with the most zeroes wins. Agreed?"

"Yeah, whatever," Scarpatti muttered.

"What he said," Sam added.

~/~\~

"Alright, that's all of 'em." Dean looked around at the unconscious guards.

"What now?"

Dean cocked his gun. "You stay here and you stay down."

"I'll say a prayer." Father Lucca replied.

"Yeah. You do that." Dean left to go to the warehouse.

~/~\~

Sam, Scarpatti, and Greenstreet were all writing down their prices. Margaret walked to Scarpatti's guard and took the paper, doing the same with Greenstreet. She walked to Sam, as he finished writing his price down.

"Good luck," she smiled as she took his paper and handed all of them to the fake cop. "If you would."

"Sure. From Lurch," the fake cop pointed at Sam. "Over here, $634,000… and 2 cents."

Scarpatti laughed. "2 cents."

"From the boss, $3 million," the fake cop looked at Scarpatti.

"Yeah, well, you tried," Greenstreet replied smugly. "That's the most important part."

"Really?" Scarpatti scoffed.

"And from Fats over there… nothing," the fake cop held up a paper with a large '0' written on it.

"What?" Angela frowned.

"Nothing?" Scarpatti asked in disbelief.

"Is this a joke to you?" Margaret demanded.

"Oh, no. I intend to buy the skull… just not from you. Kill her."

The fake cop took out his gun and aimed it at Margaret.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy." Sam tried to de-escalate the situation.

"Hand me the relic," Greenstreet demanded. "And I will pay you $1 million cash right now."

"Mr. Cromarty has been working for me for years, and I can assure you—

Mr. Cromarty shot Margaret and she fell to the ground, dead. "Really should have talked about that raise."

Sam moved out of the way and pulled Angela with him as Mr. Cromarty started shooting at the guards. Greenstreet and his guard hid behind some equipment as the shoot-out broke out. Sam and Angela started shooting at the others. Dean entered the warehouse and started firing at the guards as well.

As the shoot-out continued, Mr. Cromarty shot Father Lucca, who fell to the ground.

"No!" Angela shot Mr. Cromarty before they all rushed over to Father Lucca.

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey. You alright?" Sam knelt down beside him.

"I think I got shot." Father Lucca muttered.

Dean lifted up Father Lucca's shirt. "Looks like he just grazed you. A few more inches to the left, and, uh…"

"It's a miracle," Father Lucca breathed out.

Sam, Dean, and Angela, with Father Lucca behind them, searched for Greenstreet.

"I didn't know this would happen," the plump man started. "I… I'll give you anything you want."

"the blood, where is it?" Dean questioned.

"It, uh… doesn't exist." Greenstreet stammered.

"You… what?" Angela glared. "Wait a second. You told us—

"Exactly what you wanted to hear. It was just a bit of…"

"Chicanery?" Dean finished.

"Exactly." Greenstreet nodded.

"Well… chicane this." Dean punched Greenstreet to the ground.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela stood in front of Father Lucca at the airport. Sam held Grace's hand while Angela held Henry.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Angela asked.

"I am," Father Lucca assured. "Grazie mille. Thank you for everything."

"You know it's just a hunk of bone, right?" Dean asked.

"I do, but everyone, we all have faith in something, even if it's just 'a hunk of bone.'"

"By the way," Sam cut in. "I-I-I was reading about you. Um, what is, uh… Apostolic Protonotary Supernumery?"

Dean's brows furrowed together. "A what now?"

"Oh. It—it doesn't mean anything." Father Lucca shrugged. "It's just a little title the Pope gives you for good works."

"The Pope gave that to you?" Dean's eyes widened. "What—you met the Pope?"

"Yeah. He called me un uomo santissimo."

"What does that mean?" Sam asked.

"A most holy man." Father Lucca answered.

Sam, Dean, and Angela shared shocked looks.

"What?" Father Lucca asked curiously.

"Before you go, can we ask you for one more favor?" Angela asked.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean was sitting at the table in the bunker while holding a vile of Father Lucca's blood. Sam and Angela walked into the room.

"Well, one down, three to go," Dean noted.

"Yeah," Sam muttered.

"What?" Dean asked as Sam and Angela sat down on the stairs. "Come on. I know that look. What's on your mind?"

"I don't know." Sam shook his head. "Nothing. I mean—I mean, you know… You ever feel like we're—we're doing nothing but playing defense? You know, bouncing from one apocalypse to the next?"

"Well, it's not exactly our call," Dean muttered.

"I know that, and I'm not saying we don't do good. But—but no matter how many people we save, there will always be more people that need saving. No matter how many monsters we kill—

"There's always gonna be another one around the corner." Angela finished.

"Exactly," Sam replied. "You ever think we could change things? I mean, really change things? You know, stop all the monsters, all the bad?"

"That would be nice."

"Yeah. So, what are you thinkin'?" Sam nodded to the vial. "Think that'll work?"

Dean smirked slightly. "I have faith."

"So do I." Angela murmured as she stood up and stretched. "Alright, boys. I'm headed to bed."

"Night, Angie," Dean replied.

"I'll be there in a bit," Sam added.

"Oh, no," Angela chuckled lightly. "Sammy, you're sleeping in one of the guest rooms."

Sam frowned slightly. "Baby—

"Ah, ah. Guest room." Angela interrupted before leaving.

"Dude." Dean shook his head. "Still in the doghouse."


	31. Scoobynatural Part 1

Dean was fighting an oversized green dinosaur plushie in the pawnshop.

“Aah!” he grunted as he was thrown to the ground. “Aah! Uh!”

Sam and Angela jumped in and tackled the dinosaur to the ground. Meanwhile, Dean ran over and poured holy oil on the dinosaur while Sam and Angela held him down.

“Holy oil!” Dean yelled. “Okay, move!”

Dean dropped a lighter on the plushie and it roared and thrashed on the ground as it started to burn. After several seconds, it exploded and raining stuffing fell to the ground.

“Oh!” Sam shielded Angela. “Pfft.” He blew the hair out his eyes.

“Whoa,” Dean muttered.

“Holy crap,” Angela added.

The shop owner, Alan, came up from where he was hiding behind the store counter. “Is it over?”

“Yeah. Yes.” Angela turned to smile at him. “Sorry about the mess, Sir.”

“You three just took down an evil plushie that was trying to kill me. We’re all good.” Alan assured.

Suddenly, a short, plump, balding man walked into the shop. “Alan? Everything okay in here?”

Alan stepped in front of the man to stop him from walking further into the shop. “Oh, uh, hey, Jay.”

“I heard the ruckus next door, and I… What in the… What… holy heck?” Jay looked around at all the stuffing on the floor.

“It—it was a-a…” Sam stammered.

“Did they do this?” Jay demanded.

“No.” Sam shook his head. “Naw, it was a… Defective product. Yeah, somethings the batteries in these… giant stuffed dinosaurs just explode.”

Dean chuckled lightly. “Yeah, never buy anything from Mooselyvania.”

“Mm. Exactly.” Angela nodded.

“Mm.”

“Okay.” Jay eyed them skeptically.

“Uh, guys, this is Jay,” Alan introduced. “He’s the big man around this neighborhood. Owns practically the whole damn thing—the Chinese joint, the laundromat.”

“Great.” Sam nodded. “Great, great, great. Yeah, that’s very cool. Can you guys give us a second?”

“Great.” Alan nodded.

“Nice cover,” Dean muttered to Sam.

“What the hell was that?” Sam whispered. “I mean, we rolled into town because people were seeing a lizard monster. And yes, we tracked it back here, but no way did I think we’d end up—

“Killing Barney?” Dean interrupted.

“Yeah.”

“Was pretty satisfying, though, wasn’t it?” Dean smirked. “Probably just a cursed object.”

“Well, it didn’t act like a cursed object,” Angela muttered. “We should probably do some digging.”

“Everything all right?” Jay popped up suddenly.

“Yeah. Yeah, great.” Dean replied.

“Yeah. We were just gonna head out.” Angela added.

“Oh, hold up,” Alan cut in. “You three saved my life. Anything you want, it’s yours.” He gestured around the store.

“We could never,” Sam denied politely. “We’re—we’re just happy we could help.”

“Wait,” Dean paused. “Uh… anything?”

“Mmhmm.” Alan nodded.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela were carrying a large television out of the store, walking past Jay as they reached the door.

“Dean, this is ridiculous.” Angela reprimanded.

“Look, giving us this made him feel good, okay?” Dean retorted.

“Yeah, where are you gonna put this?” Sam questioned. “You…”

“I’m the good guy.” Dean reminded as Sam almost dropped the TV. “Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy!”

“What?” Sam’s brows furrowed.

“She’s delicate!”

“She… Pfft.” Angela rolled her eyes.

“You guys go that way. I’ll lead.” Dean ordered.

“Yeah. Dean…”

“Shh.”

“Dude, watch out,” Sam warned.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam and Angela were sitting at the table in the bunker. Sam was reading a book while Angela colored with Grace.

“Hey, what are you guys doin’?” Dean asked.

“Sammy’s doing research,” Angela replied. “And I just put Henry down for a nap.”

“Okay.”

“You know,” Sam started. “It’s the strangest thing. I-I can’t find anything on a-a cursed object that actually physically attacks people.”

“Dude, it’s over,” Dean replied with a sigh. “All right? Be like Elsa—Let it go.”

Sam turned around in his seat and looked at Dean incredulously. “Be like Elsa?”

“Gracie and I watched ‘Frozen’ recently.” Dean shrugged. “Come here. I need to show you guys something. It’s important. Come on.”

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace entered a dark room.

“Behold,” Dean turned on the light. “The Dean-cave. Or Fortress of Dean-a-tude. Just—still trying to figure that one out.” He walked past the couple and Grace, pointing out all the ‘amenities.’ “We got Foosball. We’ve got jukebox—all vinyl, obviously. Triple La-Z-Boy recliners. And, of course, the bar. Still a work in progress. It’s gonna have a kegerator because… Well, it’s gonna. And finally… the piece de resistance.” He pointed a remote at his new TV.

“Okay, hold on,” Angela stopped him. “Hold on. When did you have time to do all this?”

“When it’s important, you make time, Angie,” Dean replied.

“Wh—

“Let’s give this bad boy a test run, huh?” Dean smirked. “Dun, dun. Dun…” he turned the TV on and purple streaks emanated from in.

“What the hell?” Sam frowned in confusion.

A purple beam shot out of the screen, engulfing them, causing them to disappear.

~/~\~

_Crystal Cove, Oregon_

The purple beam dropped them all into the woods at night, in an alternate, cartoon universe.

Sam looked around frantically. “Dean? What just…”

Sam trailed off as everyone looked at each other and they froze in shock.

“Aah!” Sam and Dean yelled.

“W-we’re cartoons…” Angela muttered as she picked up Grace.

Grace looked at the palms of her hands and smiled. “Cool!”

“Uh, is—is this… Okay, okay, okay.” Sam stammered. “This is a dream. It’s gotta be a—

Sam was cut off by Dean slapping him across the face, leaving a comically large handprint on his face.

“Dude!” Sam shook his head, causing his face to return to normal.

“It’s not a dream.” Dean realized. “Holy crap.”

“This is, uh… You guys saw that light.” Angela frowned. “Did we just get sucked into the TV?”

“Or maybe this is an angel thing. Or—or the Trickster.” Dean suggested.

“No, he’s dead,” Sam argued.

“Or is he?” Dean pondered.

“Dean, what the hell?” Sam demanded.

“I don’t know, Sam. I…” Dean looked off, past Sam, and his eyes widened. “Whoa.”

Sam and Angela both turned to see what Dean was looking at and saw the Impala parked in a clearing nearby.

“Uh… How did the car get here?” Sam questioned.

“I had the keys in my pocket?” Dean shrugged. “Or maybe—Wait, seriously? That’s what’s bumping you about this? Okay, look, are we animated? Yes. Is it weird? Yes.”

“It’s beyond weird.” Angela corrected.

“Well, and ‘beyond weird’ is kind of our thing. So, whatever happened, we’ll figure it out. This is a case, so let’s work it.”

“How?” Sam demanded.

“Same as always,” Dean smirked. “We drive.”

~/~\~

The Impala sped down the dark road as rock music blared from the speakers. Dean pulled up in front of a malt shop and put the car in park.

“A malt shop. Really?” Angela deadpanned.

“Look, let’s just head in, as around, see what we can see.” Dean reasoned.

“Daddy, look!” Grace pointed to the Mystery Machine.

“Oh, my God.” Dean’s eyes widened.

“That—that—that—that’s, uh, that’s…” Sam stammered in disbelief.

“That’s the Mystery Machine.” Dean grinned excitedly. “We’re not just in any cartoon.”

“We’re in Scooby-Doo!” Angela exclaimed.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace walked into the malt shop and looked around. Daphne, Fred, Velma, and Shaggy were dancing a few feet away.

“Daddy, look!” Grace pointed at the gang as she looked up at Sam with a smile.

“Oh! That’s the freakin’ Scooby Gang!” Dean gasped as he saw Scooby Doo at a table slurping down a milkshake.

“Great,” Sam rolled his eyes in annoyance. “So we’re stuck in a cartoon with a talking dog.”

“Not just any talking dog, the talking dog.” Dean corrected. “The greatest talking dog. Now come on! Dibs on Daphne.”

The music ended and the Scooby Gang went back to their table.

“Jeepers!” Daphne exclaimed. “Those sure were some super groovy tunes.”

“Oh, man. This is like a dream come true.” Dean grinned widely.

Sam raised his brows. “Your dream is to hang out with the Scooby Gang?”

“Sam, growing up on the road, no matter where Dad dragged us, no matter what we did, there was always a TV. And you know what was always on that TV? Scooby and the Gang. These guys, they’re our friggin’ role models, man. Except Fred. He’s a wad.”

Angela’s brows furrowed in confusion. “He’s… what?”

“Just think about it—we do the same thing,” Dean explained. “We go to spooky places, we solve mysteries, we fight ghosts.”

“Yeah, except our ghosts don’t wear masks, and we don’t have a talking dog.” Sam reminded.

“I don’t know. I mean, Cas is kind of like a talking dog. Now, how do I look?”

“Two-dimensional.” Angela snorted.

“Perfect!” Dean exclaimed before he approached the table where the gang was sitting. “Uh… hi.”

“Huh?” Fred asked.

“Uh, uh, I’m Dean. My brother, Sam, his wife, Angie, and their daughter, Grace.” Dean introduced as Grace waved a tiny hand. “Mind if we join you?”

The gang looked at Dean like he was crazy before Fred broke out into a smile.

“Of course not! There’s plenty of room. I’m Fred. This is Velma, Shaggy, Scooby, and—

“Daphne.” Dean sat down next to the redhead.

“Hmm?” she hummed.

Dean grabbed Daphne’s hand and kissed is. “Enchanté.”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, we know you. You guys are famous.”

“Famous?” Scooby asked.

“Like, the only thing we’re famous for is our eating skills.” Shaggy gestured to a wall of pictures of him and Scooby winning various eating contests.

“Yum, yum, yum.” Scooby smiled.

“So, looks like you guys are celebrating something?” Dean asked.

“We are!” Velma nodded. “We just found out that Scooby’s been named as one of the heirs to a fortune, left to him by an old Southern colonel.”

“Scooby saved him from drowning in a fish pond,” Daphne added.

“I’m a hero.” Scooby stood proudly.

“Okay, okay, but he’s dead now, right?” Sam questioned.

Fred hesitated for a moment. “Uh, yeah. Uh, cancer.”

“Give us a second.” Dean got up and pulled Sam and Angela away from the table. “Sam, you wanna pull that stick out of your… nether regions and just play along here?”

“Play… There are no words in this newspaper, Dean. We should be trying to get out of here and instead, you—you’re hanging out with Marmaduke.”

Dean gasped in offense. “How dare you!”

“And hitting on Daphne, when she’s clearly with Fred,” Angela added.

“She’s settling, all right?” Dean grumbled. “Oh, Daphne could do so much better. Last time we got zapped into TV, we got out by playing our part. This is probably like that. The gang, they’re about to get a mystery.”

“I don’t know, gang. Sounds like this could be the start of a mystery.” Fred noted.

“You know, uh, Sam, Angie, and I are actually mystery solvers, too.” Dean walked back to the table. “Mind if we tag along?”

“That sounds like a swell idea.” Fred nodded. “In fact, I think it’s high time we hit the road.”

“You know what that means?” Shaggy asked.

“Uh-huh!” Scooby nodded.

“Road food!” Shaggy and Scooby exclaimed in unison.

Shaggy and Scooby started piling up food from the table to make overly large sandwiches.

“Oh, heck, yes!” Dean exclaimed as he sat down next to Scooby and made himself an overly large sandwich. He stuffed it in his mouth and grinned. “Sam! Angie! Look how big my mouth is!”

~/~\~

Outside, the Mystery Machine was idling at a red light outside the malt shop as the Impala pulled up next to it.

“Hey, why don’t you follow us up to the Colonel’s mansion?” Fred suggested.

“I don’t know, Freddie,” Dean smirked. “I’m not sure Baby can go that slow.”

“Well, the Mystery Machine is a lot faster than it looks.”

“Oh, yeah?” Dean scoffed. “Well, let’s see who can get there first. Or are you… chicken?”

“Well, I’m game if you are.” Fred beamed.

“Hey, why do you hate Fred so much?” Sam asked his brother curiously.

“He thinks he’s so cool, with his perfect hair, his can-do attitude, that stupid ascot,” Dean muttered. “Let’s do this!”

Fred and Dean revved their engines. The light turned green and the Mystery Machine raced away, leaving the Impala in a cloud of smoke.

“Did… did you just get beat by a microvan?” Angela stifled her laughter.

“The light was red! The light…” Dean banged on the steering wheel. “Fred!”

As the Impala raced away from the malt shop, a man in an overcoat walked into the street and watched the Impala drive away.

~/~\~

At the mansion, the Impala pulled up alongside the Mystery Machine and the hunters and Grace got out of the car.

“Look, all I’m saying is that, aerodynamically speaking, there is no way my Baby should lose to… that.” Dean pointed at the Mystery Machine. “Unless Fred cheated, which he clearly did.”

“Dude,” Sam smirked. “Get over it.”

Dean paused for a moment in disbelief. “No!”

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace met up with the Scooby Gang outside of the frightening-looking mansion.

“A Night of Fright is No Delight,” Dean muttered.

“What?” Angela frowned.

“That’s the episode we’re in,” Dean replied. “Grace and I watched it last week.”

~/~\~

Inside the mansion, Sam, Dean, Angela, Grace, the Scooby Gang, and the relatives of the Colonel were sitting in a room with a man standing beside a record player on a desk.

“Attention, everybody,” the man started. “As you all know, I am Cosgood Creeps, attorney of the late Colonel Sanders.”

Cosgood put a briefcase on the desk next to the record player. Sam leaned over to Dean as if he were going to say something.

“Shut up,” Dean whispered.

“My client was a bit odd. His only directions were to play this record for you.” Cosgood pulled a record out of the briefcase and put it on the player.

“Yeah! Classic vinyl.” Dean exclaimed.

 _“Greetin’s, y’all!”_ the Colonel’s voice rang through. _“Cousin Simple, Nephew Norble, Sweet Cousin Maldahyde, Cousin Slicker, and my old friend, Scooby-Doo. You’re all gonna receive an equal share of $1 million, providing you spend tonight here in the old family mansion. Oh, one more thing—the house is haunted."_

“Haunted?” Sam and Scooby asked simultaneously.

 _“Yes, haunted.”_ Colonel Sanders continued. _“And if any of you can’t make it through the night, his or her share of my fortune will go to the others. Now good night and pleasant dreams, y’all.”_

“Oh, boy.” Scooby swallowed nervously.

Cosgood put the record back in the briefcase and everyone except Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace left the room.

“What kind of weirdo sets all this up?” Sam asked. “I mean, spend the night in a haunted house for $1 million? That can’t be legal.”

“Sam, come on. The house isn’t really haunted.” Velma laughed.

The hunters and Grace turned around to face Velma.

“I’m not—

“And things like this happen all the time.” Velma continued.

“Oh, yeah, maybe in a car—

Dean slapped a hand over Sam’s mouth. Velma walked away and Dean removed his hand.

“Dude, what’s wrong with you?” Sam demanded.

“They don’t know that they’re in a… a C-word. And we’re not gonna tell ‘em about anything. Not where we’re from, not about monsters. Nothing. Capiche?” Dean looked over at the gang, who were standing across the room. “They are pure and innocent and good, and we’re gonna keep it that way.”

“Look, if you’ve seen this episode, why—why can’t we just skip to the end?” Angela asked.

“Well, ‘cause sometimes it’s about the journey and not the destination.” Dean shrugged.

“Or do you just want more time to try and get with Daphne?” Sam quirked a brow.

“Do not ruin this for me!”

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace walked out of the room and joined everyone else who were standing with Cosgood.

“I’ll return to the house in the morning to find out which of you remain, if any.” Cosgood laughed maniacally.

“Turns out, he’s the bad guy,” Dean whispered.

“You don’t say,” Sam replied sarcastically.

“Ten o’clock and I suggest we all turn in.” Cousin Simple suggested.

“So, Daphne… old drafty house.” Dean walked up to her and placed his arm around her shoulders. “What say you and I bunk together?”

Daphne giggled. “Oh, Dean! Boys and girls don’t sleep in the same room, silly. Come on, Velma. You too, Angie!”

Daphne tugged on Angela’s hand, and Angela just waved to Sam as she and Grace followed the girls.

Fred placed his arm around Dean’s shoulders. “Guess you’re with me, slugger.”

“Awesome,” Dean grumbled.

~/~\~

Sam, Fred, Scooby, and Shaggy were in their room. Scooby was sitting on the floor shivering in fear.

“Relax, Scooby.” Fred comforted. “We’ll spend the night with ya. Now let’s hit the sack.”

Dean walked into the room wearing a purple nightgown and a sleeping cap.

“Are you wearing… a nightgown?” Sam asked.

“It’s called a sleeping robe.” Dean corrected. “Between you and me, it’s freakin’ comfortable. It’s like I’m wrapped in hugs.”

~/~\~

Scooby was lying on the bottom of Shaggy’s bed, yawning. He stretched out and started to snore. Meanwhile, across the room, Dean was sitting in a chair earing a sandwich while Sam stood behind him.

“Is that all you’re gonna do? Eat?” Sam questioned.

“Relax.” Dean rolled his eyes. “In a few minutes, we’re gonna find out the Cousin Simple’s missing, the Scoobies are gonna think that it’s a ghost, but really, it’s just the lawyer Cosgood Creeps in disguise.”

At that moment, a scream could be heard from somewhere in the house.

“Told ya,” Dean smirked.

“Come on, gang! Let’s check it out!” Fred exclaimed.

The boys headed out of the room while the girls ran out of their room as well. Angela was wearing a frilly purple nightgown and held Grace, who was sleeping. They caught up in Cousin Simple’s room. He was lying in his bed. Daphne reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, no!” she pulled her hand away, revealing blood.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Dean frowned. “No, the dummy bodies don’t show up until later.”

Sam was kneeling beside the bed. “Dean, this isn’t a dummy. This blood.”

Sam held up his blood-covered hand and pulled a blanket off of Cousin Simple, revealing several pools of blood around his body.

“He’s—he’s dead.” Angela frowned. “Like—like, really, actually dead.”

“Jinkies!” Velma exclaimed.

“Jeepers!”

“Zoinks!”

“Ruh-roh!”

“Son of a bitch.” Dean groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter!! I've recently gotten back into writing this series and I'm so excited~


	32. Scoobynatural Part 2

“Well, gang, it looks like we’ve got another mystery on our hands,” Fred said happily.

“Are you kidding me, Fred?” Sam asked in disbelief. “Dude, someone’s dead. A little respect.”

“Yeah, Fred. He can be such a jerk. Right, Daphne?” Dean asked.

“Not really.” She shrugged before she and Fred left the room.

“We should look for evidence…” Velma suggested.

“Huh?!” Scooby’s eyes widened in fear.

“Like fingerprints or fluids,” Velma added.

“Uh-huh!” Scooby shook his head.

“Fluids?” Sam wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Dean grabbed the front of Sam’s jacket as Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby left the room. “Dude, this is not the way things went down in the episode. I remember everything that happened in Scooby-Doo and no one ever got stabbed in the back and ended up in a pool of their own blood.”

“Yeah,” Angela muttered as she adjusted Grace in her arms. “Yeah, okay. Um, so, if that guy can die for real in this cartoon, that means we can, too.”

“Scooby-Doo could die!” Dean exclaimed. “And that’s not happening, not on my watch. I’d take a bullet for that dog.”

Sam, Dean, and Angela walked over to the Scooby Gang. The room was dark except for the sporadic flash of lightning.

“There has to be a logical explanation for what’s going on,” Velma said.

“Besides a ghost hunting us down to collect an inheritance?” Shaggy asked.

“Yeah, what he said.” Scooby agreed.

“What would a ghost need with money?” Daphne asked curiously.

“Precisely.” Velma nodded. “And besides, there’s no such thing as ghosts.”

As Velma was talking, she walked around the room and passed a large window. Lightning illuminated the outside and a man approached the window. As he got closer, the wind blew his coat around.

“Huh?” Scooby went wide-eyed.

“So, once you eliminate the impossible,” Velma continued. “Whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”

“Look!” Shaggy exclaimed.

Sam and Dean stood on either side of the window while Angela stood with the gang, still holding Grace, who was waking up. As the man pushed open the window, Fred jumped him and pushed him to the side.

“Gotcha!”

The man got caught up in the curtain and stumbled into the room, eventually falling. Dean ran over, ready to fight the man.

“Not today, freak!” Dean pulled the curtain away to reveal Castiel.

“Cas?” Sam, Dean, and Angela asked.

“Hi, Uncle Cas!” Grace grinned.

“Like, you know this guy?” Shaggy frowned.

“Uh, yeah, yeah. He’s a—he’s a friend of ours.” Sam replied.

“Neato!” Daphne exclaimed.

“Castiel, the Scooby Gang.” Dean introduced.

“Castiel?” Shaggy asked. “It sounds like a great Italian pizza place.”

“Uh, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Castiel replied awkwardly.

“Nice to meet you, too.” Scooby offered the angel his paw.

Castiel frowned and looked at the hunters. “Sam, Dean, Angela… this dog is talking.”

“Yep.” Dean smiled.

“Cas, how did you get here?” Angela asked curiously.

“Well, I was looking for you at the bunker when I saw purple sparks, then a flash of light, and the next thing I knew, I was in this strange world,” Castiel explained. “I saw you race off and I’ve been trying to catch up ever since.”

“You saw purple sparks?” Sam asked. “Dean, Angie, that’s like with the killer stuffed dinosaur. And they were both in that pawnshop. Maybe this is all connected.”

“Um, ‘killer stuffed dinosaur?’” Velma inquired.

“Oh, I-I didn’t mean a real—

“It’s a book we’re writing.” Dean cut Sam off. “Yeah, about… killer stuffed dinosaurs. It’s called…”

“The Killer Stuffed Dinosaur in Love.” Castiel finished.

“Huh. Great title.” Fred complimented.

“Yeah. Great title.” Scooby agreed.

“Well, if he isn’t responsible for Cousin Simple’s death, who is?” Daphne questioned as the lights started to flicker.

“Huh?” Scooby asked.

“Like, somebody turn up the heat in here, man. It’s getting cold.” Shaggy shivered.

Suddenly, a menacing roar was heard throughout the mansion. Velma lit an oil lame while Sam, Dean, and Angela carried flashlights. The group walked through the hallways of the mansion and as they passed an open window, the wind blew through and handprints appeared on the glass.

“Huh?” Scooby and Shaggy whimpered in fear.

Out of nowhere, a door in the hallway cracked open and a light shined from behind it.

“No! No! aah! Oh!” a man yelled.

“Sam. Angie.” Dean frowned as all the doors slammed shut.

“Roh!” Scooby exclaimed.

Sam went to grab the doorknob and a ghostly, purple hand reached through the door and tried to grab Sam, knocking the flashlight from his hand. Then, the entire ghost materialized through the door.

“Ph-ph-ph-phantom!” Shaggy cried as Scooby jumped into his arms.

“Aah!” Scooby yelped as he and Shaggy jumped into Castiel’s arms.

“Come on, guys. We’re on.” Dean looked at Sam and Angela.

Fred, however, had other ideas and ran up between the hunters, jumping the ghost. “Yah!” he leaped at the ghost and went right through him. “Uhh!”

Angela set Grace down and she, Sam, and Dean ran towards the ghost, who swiped at them, leaving large claw marks on the wall.

“Gotcha!” Fred tried to catch the ghost again, but it just ended up disappearing through the wall. “Uhh! Huh?”

“Wait, what?” Dean frowned.

“G-g-g-g-ghost!” Scooby cried out in fear.

“Guys, no. It’s not a ghost.” Velma assured as the lights flickered back on and Castiel dropped Scooby and Shaggy to the floor.

“Oh, yeah?” Shaggy challenged. “Then, man, how did he just walk through that wall?!”

“Well, there’s probably a hidden door.”

“Well, whatever it was, it’s gone now. It looks like he was coming out of here.” Fred opened a door and they saw the dismembered body of Cosgood Creeps. “Well, that’s not good.”

Angela covered Grace’s eyes while Dean gagged.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Come on, gang!” Fred exclaimed as they left the room.

“So, do they always just walk away from dead bodies or…” Sam muttered.

“Guys, the cold spot, fritzing out… that was a ghost—our kind of ghost,” Dean stressed. “I think this cartoon is haunted.”

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, Grace, and Castiel met back up with the gang downstairs.

“All right, Prepmeister Fred, what’s your plan?” Dean questioned.

“We should all split up and search the house for clues,” Fred suggested.

“That’s a plan?” Castiel asked.

“Mnh-mnh.” Dean shook his head disapprovingly.

“I-I don’t think we should separate.” Sam chimed in. “It’ll be easier for Dean, Angie, and me to keep you safe if we’re all together.”

“Really, Sam?” Velma chuckled. “I wouldn’t expect such a big, broad-shouldered fella like you to be as chicken as Shaggy.” She placed her hand on Sam’s shoulder. “No offense, Shaggy.”

“Like, none taken.” Shaggy peeked out from behind a suit of armor that he had hidden behind with Scooby.

“If this is a real ghost, these guys are in trouble,” Angela whispered. “We can’t let anything happen to them.”

“Exactly.” Dean nodded. “So, for now, let’s follow ascot boy’s lead.” He added before running to Daphne. “I call team-up with Daphne!”

“Great!” Fred exclaimed. “It’ll be just the three of us.”

“Daddy, can I go with Uncle Cas?” Grace asked. “Please?”

Sam thought for a moment and looked at Castiel, silently asking if he was okay with that.

“I’ll take care of her, Sam,” Castiel promised.

“Okay, Peanut.” Sam looked down at his daughter. “But you have to do what your Uncle Cas says, okay?”

“Okay!” Grace smiled as she ran over to the angel.

“Sam, Angela, and I will check the attic,” Velma said. “I mean… unless you’re too scared.”

“What?” Sam’s eyes widened. “N-no, I-I’m… Let’s check the attic.”

“Don’t worry, baby,” Angela smirked teasingly. “I’ll protect ya.”

“Like, man, I guess that leaves me and old Scoob with you, Castiel.” Shaggy smiled.

“Wonderful.” Castiel lifted Grace up. “I once led armies, and now I’m paired with a scruffy Philistine and a talking dog.”

~/~\~

“So, I guess this is your first mystery,” Velma started. “So if you could keep those giant linebacker shoulders from knocking over any clues, that would be great.”

“Why do you keep talking about my shoulders?” Sam asked.

“Oh,” Velma blushed. “I—uh, huh. Uh…” she laughed nervously.

“You do have very _broad_ shoulders, Sam.” Angela threw her husband a cheeky wink.

It was Sam’s turn to blush slightly, and while he was distracted, he shined his flashlight on a mannequin and jumped backward, clearly started. He fell down and a can bounced on his head.

“Maybe that was a ghost.” Velma teased as Angela helped Sam up.

“Look,” Sam sighed. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but ghosts are real.”

“Huh?”

“My brother, Angie, and I, we hunt them, along with werewolves and vampires and demons and… We’ve saved the world. A lot.” Sam explained.

“It’s true,” Angela nodded in confirmation.

Velma just blinked and started laughing. “Look, the simple fact is monsters are nothing more than crooks in masks—usually unscrupulous real estate developers.”

“One, there are way better real estate scams. And two—

“Hey, look! A clue.” Velma interrupted as she shined her flashlight on a toy chest covered in ectoplasm.

“That’s strange.” Angela, Velma, and Sam noted simultaneously.

“I guess we each noticed that these toys are the only things up here that aren’t covered in dust.” Velma observed.

“Actually, I was noticing this.” Sam knelt down and ran his fingers through the goo. “Angie, look. Ectoplasm.” He said before looking at Velma. “This gets left behind by ghosts.”

“Oh, stop already. You can’t really believe in ghosts.”

Suddenly, the toys started to glow purple and levitated themselves out of the box. The toys hurled themselves at the hunters and Velma as they ran for the attic door.

“Oh!” Velma exclaimed.

“Told ya.” Sam quipped.

“Aah! It’s not a g—It’s probably just Christmas lights and—and fishing line!” Velma reasoned as the attic door slammed shut behind her, Angela, and Sam.

~/~\~

“So, Daph,” Dean started as they walked into the dark library. “I don’t usually have to do this, but what do you look for in a guy?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Strong, sincere, and an ascot wouldn’t hurt.”

Dean paused for a moment before he noticed something. “Whoa, hold on. Check out that book.”

“There are a lot of books in here, Dean,” Fred noted.

“No, that one,” Dean pointed to a yellow book. “The one that isn’t painted into the background of the car—Library. The… Library.” He pulled on the book, frowning when nothing happened. “Huh. Sorry. I thought it might be some kind of secret passage or—

The floor opened up and Dean, Fred, and Daphne went hurling down a slide and ended up in a dark room.

“Aah!” they all yelled.

“Whoa! Daphne, are you okay?” Dean asked. “Maybe I should give you a once-over just to make sure.”

At that moment, Fred turned on the lights to find Dean standing next to the ghost.

“Aah! Oh!” Dean jumped back. “Oh, hell no.”

Dean, Fred, and Daphne quickly ran out of the room as the ghost chased after them.

~/~\~

The entire group ended up colliding in a pile in the middle of a hallway. The lights flickered and the ghost came around the corner. Castiel picked up Grace and the group ran into a large, empty room, locking the door behind them.

“We have to stop this ghost,” Fred said.

“We almost did!” Daphne exclaimed. “Dean had him by the thigh.”

“He what?” Castiel asked as he set Grace down.

“I almost caught him. That’s the point.” Dean replied.

“Guys, come on. For the last time, there’s no such thing as ghosts.” Velma stressed as her breath turned cold and her glasses fogged over. “Oh, no!”

The lights flickered again and the windows frosted over. There was a banging on the other side of the door and it slammed open, revealing the phantom.

“That costume looks really… real.” Velma swallowed nervously.

“I’ll get him!” Fred exclaimed.

“Fred, don’t!” Angela tried to stop him.

Fred ran towards the ghost and was thrown across the room, hitting a sculpture before falling on the floor.

“Fred!” Daphne exclaimed.

Suddenly, she, Velma, and Angela started levitating.

“Huh?” Velma and Daphne asked.

The girls were pinned against the wall, while still in the air.

“Angie!” Sam yelled.

“Like, that’s our cue to get out of here. Aah! Run!” Shagging attempted to run away, but was held in place.

The ghost flicked his hand and Shaggy was thrown out of the glass window.

“Aah!”

“Shaggy!” Daphne cried out.

Sam looked around and grabbed two large candle holders, tossing one to Dean. “Dean! Iron!”

Sam and Dean took the candles out of the holders and hit the ghosts with them. The candle holders stuck into the ghost’s back and purple sparks emanated. As the sparking continued, the ghost shrieked in pain and disappeared. The lights came back on as Fred woke up and Angela, Daphne, and Velma fell towards the floor. Sam, Dean, and Castiel each caught one of the girls.

“What just happened?” Fred asked in confusion.

“Where’s Rhaggy?” Scooby asked.

“Over here!” Shaggy cried, hanging from a swaying metal beam. “Like, little help?” he asked before the beam gave way and Shaggy fell towards the ground.

“Rhaggy!” Scooby ran towards the window and jumped out to grab Shaggy’s foot.

Castiel immediately jumped to follow Scooby. “Scooby!”

“Scooby!” Dean yelled.

“Gotcha!” Scooby assured Shaggy.

“You’ve got me! Who’s got you?!”

Castiel was flying towards Scooby and grabbed the dog’s tail. The angel’s coat billowed out to form a makeshift parachute, slowing their fall as they crashed through a tree and landed on the ground.

“Oh!” Scooby groaned.

“Aah!”

“Shaggy!”

Shaggy was lying on the ground, moaning as he held his broken arm. The remainder of the gang came running outside.

“Shaggy!” Daphne cried. “Are you okay?”

“Like, do I look like I’m okay?” Shaggy retorted.

“It appears his arm is broken,” Castiel noted.

“What?” Shaggy’s eyes widened. “That’s not—I have jumped out of a biplane in a museum and was fine! How did this happen?!”

“I-I don’t know.” Fred stammered. “I… something threw me across the room.”

“Wires. Probably just wires.” Velma replied nervously.

“Like, hello! Broken arm here!” Shaggy yelled.

“Shaggy, brace yourself.” Velma knelt down beside him.

“Uh… Fred, give me your ascot,” Daphne held her hand out and made a makeshift sling for Shaggy’s arms.

“Guys, we have to tell them the truth,” Angela muttered.

“What truth?” Daphne asked.

“The truth about the phantom.” Sam sighed deeply.

“Look, this phantom isn’t like other ghosts you’ve faced,” Dean explained. “He’s real. He is a real ghost.”

“Huh?” the gang asked simultaneously.

“Um, I’m not totally following you.” Fred blinked.

“Look, that isn’t a guy in a mask and a costume,” Sam replied. “It’s a vengeful spirit that’s come back from the dead.”

“That’s the truth.” Angela murmured.

Velma took off her glasses and swallowed heavily. “So everything you told me, it’s true?”

“Mm-hmm.” Sam nodded.

“Werewolves? Vampires? Demons?”

“Mm-hmm.” The hunters confirmed.

“I thought I was blind without my glasses,” Velma shook her head. “But I was just blind. Oh, how could I be so stupid?!”

“Uh, well, I mean—

“We’ve been stopping real estate developers when we could’ve been hunting Dracula?” Fred banked his head against a tree. “Are you kidding me?!”

The hunters cringed slightly at the scene that unfolded before them.

“My life is meaningless!” Fred exclaimed.

“If there are ghosts… that means there’s an afterlife.” Daphne’s eyes widened. “Heaven. Hell. Am I going to Hell?!”

“We told you every freaking time!” Shaggy cried. “But did you ever listen to Scoob and me? No!”

“We’re doomed.” Scooby shook his head.

“All right, knock it off!” Dean cut in sternly. “Come on! Scooby Gang does not have nervous breakdowns. Now you may not have tangled with the supernatural, but you’ve fought monsters, real freakin’ psychos. Well, you stopped Zeke and Zeb. Shaggy figured out that the sharks Old Iron France rode were really just torpedoes disguised to look like sharks. And what about the Black Knight? Huh? Mamba Wamba?”

“Uncle Dean, the Space Kook!” Grace added.

“That’s right, Gracie,” Dean nodded. “Space Kook, Ghost Clown, Miner 49er. You guys have all jumped into danger with no. thought for yourselves. You’re heroes, and together, we’re gonna take down this phantom. Are you with me?”

The gang raised their fists in the air. “Yeah!”

“Let’s do it!” Fred exclaimed.

“But how?” Velma questioned. “We don’t know the first thing about fighting real ghosts. We don’t have the proper tools or weapons.”

“That’s okay,” Sam smirked. “We do.”

~/~\~

The gang was standing at the back of the Impala as Dean opened the trunk, revealing all of their weapons.

Daphne gasped in awe.

“Ooh.” Shaggy murmured.

“Whoa,” Scooby added.

“Here, Velma, take this,” Sam handed Velma a shotgun.

Dean immediately stepped in and grabbed the gun. “Sam, are you crazy? They can’t use this stuff. That’s a Scooby-don’t.”

“Dean, we’ve gotta do something,” Fred argued. “I mean, you guys are amazing!”

“Thank you, Fred.” Dean smiled proudly.

“But we can help. We have to.” Fred pressed.

Dean placed a hand on Fred’s shoulder. “Damn right you can. You’re gonna do what you do best—build a trap.”

~/~\~

Inside the mansion, Daphne was laying salt lines.

“Ahh. That should do it.” Fred said triumphantly once he finished the trap.

“Lay it on me, Freddy,” Dean replied.

“Well, you see, Daphne’s covered all the exits except that one with salt,” Fred pointed to the front entrance. “So the phantom will enter there, tripping the iron chain that’ll activate the ax, which cuts the rope that holds the coconuts.”

“Where’d he get coconuts?” Sam asked.

“Sh!” Dean hushed.

“The coconuts are gonna roll,” Fred continued. “Tripping the phantom, sending his careening down a slide of soap, right into the washing machine which will secure with those iron chains.”

“And with the ghost captured, we can finally find out what’s going on,” Angela replied.

“Now all we need… is bait,” Velma added.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Grace peeked out from behind a stuffed bear where they were watching the trap fail.

“I told you it wasn’t going to work,” Sam muttered.

“Yeah, Fred’s traps never work.” Dean sighed. “Daph, Plan B! Operation Bookworm is a go.”

The gang all ran in different directions. The ghost, visibly agitated, began to search for them and upended a couch, revealing Fred, Velma, and Daphne.

“Aah!” the three of them screamed.

Scooby was throwing books at the ghost’s back, distracting it.

“Good shot, Scoob old buddy.” Shaggy congratulated. “Give him another one.”

The ghost turned toward Shaggy and was hit with another book in the back. He turned around and ran towards Scooby.

“Scooby, now!” Daphne yelled.

As the ghost approached, Scooby handed him the pile of books and used his tail to pull out the booby trap book on the bookshelf. The floor opened up and the ghost slid down the slide into the basement. He found himself in a circle made of salt.

“That’s a salt circle,” Sam noted as the ghost flew around. “You’re stuck.”

“Let… me… go!” the ghost demanded.

“Happy to, Sparky, soon as you tell us who you really are,” Dean replied.

The ghost tried several more times to escape and then finally, collapsed to the floor, morphing into a small boy.

“It’s… a child.” Castiel frowned.

“Yeah, creepy ghost kid. You get used to ‘em.”

“But… wait.” Angela frowned. “Why are you trying to kill us?”

“I’m not,” the boy replied. “I never wanted to hurt anyone. But the bad man, he makes me.”

“The bad man?” Castiel inquired.

“His name is Jay.”

“The dude from the pawnshop.” Dean realized.

“When I died, my soul was tied to a pocketknife.” The boy explained. “My dad gave it to me. It meant everything. When Jay found me, he used me to… Sometimes, I get so angry I break things, hurt people. But I don’t want to. I just wanna see my dad again.”

“I’m sorry,” Castiel apologized. “It was wrong of him to do that.”

“None of this was your fault.” Angela comforted.

“Look, if you get us back to the real world, we can set you free,” Dean told the boy.

“Do you promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to d…” Dean cleared his throat. “Well, you know what I mean.”

~/~\~

Dean peeked into the room where the gang was freaking out.

“Should I—should I make another trap?” Fred stammered.

“I could get the shotgun!” Velma yelled.

“I could get two shotguns!” Daphne yelled.

“Like, tell Scoob and me when it’s over!”

“Yeah!”

Castiel, Sam, Angela, and Grace joined Dean at the door.

“Okay, okay, hey, give me a minute,” Dean muttered. “We can’t leave ‘em like this.”

The hunters went back into the room where the boy still sat in the salt circle.

“Kid, we need a favor.”

~/~\~

After a few moments, the gang piled into the basement.

“Did you send it back to the fiery pit from whence it came?!” Fred cried out.

“Look, everything’s under control,” Sam assured as he turned to the ghost in the room, under a blanket and tied with rope.

“Aah! Kill it with fire!” the gang yelled.

“Whoa!” Dean exclaimed. “Slow your roll, guys. We were wrong.”

“Huh?”

“What—what are you—what are you saying?” Daphne stammered.

“Velma… w-was right.” Angela shrugged.

“Like, she was?”

“This wasn’t a real ghost. We were fooled.” Sam explained as they walked towards the ghost. “But you never were, right, Velma?”

“I, uh… I don’t know.” Velma mumbled.

“Hey, guys, do your thing,” Dean smirked before he leaned towards Castiel. “This is my favorite part.”

Velma and Fred walked over to the ghost and Velma reached out and pulled its mask off.

“Cosgood Creeps?!” the gang yelled.

“But… the flying.” Daphne frowned.

“Wires.” Angela shrugged.

“Huh.”

“What about the walking through the walls? And the bodies?” Shaggy questioned.

“Well, that was just a projector.” Sam reasoned. “As for the bodies…”

“Were they… dummies filled with corn syrup?” Velma asked.

“Huh?” Scooby asked.

“Exactly.” Sam nodded.

“Of course!” Fred exclaimed. “Gosgood was trying to drive everyone from the house so he could get the money himself.”

“Right. But the joke is on him because the money’s worthless.” Dean opened a suitcase filled with money. “It’s all Confederate dollars.”

“Aw!” Scooby groaned. “Oh, well. Easy come easy go.”

Velma began to laugh. “So… I was right. I told ya, ya big lug. There’s no such thing as the supernatural.”

“Looks like you were right, and now we know.” Sam shrugged.

Castiel touched Shaggy’s arm from behind and healed it.

“Hey,” Shaggy took off the sling. “My arm’s feeling better. Don’t think it was really broken after all.”

“This is great news!” Fred cheered. “Let’s meet at the malt shop and celebrate.”

“Sure, Fred. And hey, you’re not so bad.” Dean smiled.

“Yeah, I know.” Fred grinned. “Thanks.”

Dean placed his hand on Daphne’s waist as Fred walked off. “So, uh… I guess this is it.”

“This is what?” Daphne asked innocently.

Dean placed his open hand on Daphne’s mouth. “Shh. No words. We’ll never know what could’ve been.”

Daphne paused for a moment and nodded. “Freddy, wait for me!”

Meanwhile, Castiel was hugging Shaggy and Scooby tightly. “I will miss your wise words and your gentle spirits.”

“Like, we will miss breathing,” Shaggy muttered before Castiel released them.

Grace took her turn to hug Scooby. “Bye-bye, Scooby!”

“Thank you,” Castiel said sincerely. “You’ve shown me the great strength of laughter in the face of danger.”

“Danger?!” Scooby exclaimed in fear. “Where?!”

“Let’s get out of here, man.” Shaggy pulled Scooby with him as he ran away.

“Great working with you. Velma.” Sam complimented.

“You, too, Sam.” Velma smiled before she grabbed Sam and dipped him into a kiss. “Mmm. Mwah. Those shoulders. Jinkies!” she raised her arms triumphantly as she left the room.

Angela covered her mouth as she laughed and Sam rubbed the back of his neck.

“Shoulda known Velma was good to go.” Dean shook his head. “It’s always the quiet ones.”

“She’s kinda right, Sammy,” Angela smirked up at her husband. “Your shoulders sure are… something.”

“Okay you two,” Dean rolled his eyes. “Cool it, let’s keep it PG.”

Sam cleared his throat awkwardly and nodded as they all stood around Cosgood.

“We’re ready,” Castiel said.

Cosgood morphed back into the little boy and he held up a hand. Sam, Dean, Angela, Grace, and Castiel touched the bubble. Purple light flashed and they were transported back to the bunker.

“Okay.” Sam breathed out. “That was… something.”

“That was _so_ cool!” Grace exclaimed excitedly.

“That was the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.” Dean grinned. “And that includes the Cartwright twins.”

“What did you do with the Cartwright twins?” Castiel’s brows furrowed.

Dean chuckled lightly. “Oh. I’ll be right back.”

Angela looked at Castiel and Sam. “I don’t think I wanna know.”

Dean came back into the room and tossed a blowtorch to Sam while he picked up a sledgehammer. “Well, sorry, sweetheart.”

Dean smashed the TV, which crashed to the floor. He looked through the broken pieces and pulled out the pocketknife. He tossed it to Sam as the boy materialized in front of them.

“Time to go, kid.”

“What about the bad man?” the boy asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry about him, hon.” Angela comforted. “We’ll take care of him, all right?”

Sam placed the knife on a metal tray and started burning it with the blowtorch. The boy went up in flames and disappeared.

~/~\~

In the pawnshop, Jay handed some paperwork over to Alan.

“You sure about this?”

“Look, you’re getting’ this place for a steal,” Alan replied. “But… I’m too old for this crap.”

“If you say so. Just, uh, two more signatures, and…”

Alan hesitated signing and the door to the shop opened.

“Not so fast.” Dean interrupted.

“Is that an ascot?” Alan asked.

“Yes,” Dean smirked. “Yes, it is.”

“Uh, what are you guys doing here?” Jay frowned.

“Hey, Alan, your friend here, he’s been driving people off their property so he could buy it on the cheap,” Sam explained. “And he’s been using his own personal ghost to do it. You see, he’d plant the haunted object, then let the ghost go to work.”

“Then they would possess something, like a big dinosaur or a perfectly beautiful TV,” Dean added.

“And scare people so much that they’d be desperate to sell.”

“When we got nosy…” Angela trailed off. “He sicced his pet ghost on us.”

Castiel held up the melted pocketknife. “But now, that spirit is freed.”

“They’re lying,” Jay told Alan. “They’re… You think anyone’s gonna believe that?”

“No, but that’s why we hacked your financials,” Angela replied. “Turns out you’re not so big on paying your taxes, are you?”

Dean smirked as police sirens sounded from outside. “Good enough for Capone, good enough for you.”

Sam, Dean, Angela, Grace, and Castiel walked out of the pawnshop.

“Ha!” Sam chuckled. “Velma was right. It was a shady real estate developer after all.”

“It’s not fair,” Jay complained as he was escorted to the police car. “I would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those meddling kids.”

Dean gasped loudly. “He said it! He said the line! Scooby Dooby Doo!”

“What are you doing?” Angela laughed.

“Well, I mean, at the end of every mystery, Scooby looks into the camera and he says—

“Dean, you’re not a talking dog.” Castiel interrupted.

“I know that. I…”

“Yeah.” Sam pursed his lips as he picked up Grace and walked away with Castiel and Angela.

“No, but come on, I-I do look cool with the ascot, right?” Dean asked. “No? Guys? Come on, guys. Look, red is my color!”


	33. The Thing Part 1

_Lawrence, Kansas_

Sam was asleep at the map table while Angela sat beside him, bottle-feeding Henry. Sam was leaning over with his head resting on a book and his outstretched arm. Dean came up behind Sam carefully and he looked at Angela, holding a finger up to his lips.

Angela just rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’m not involved.”

Dean carefully placed a post-it note that read ‘DUM-DUM’ on the back of Sam’s shirt, followed by another one that read ‘KICK ME.’

Sam stirred with a quiet grunt, and lifted his head up, but remained asleep. Dean paused, shaking his head, hoping that Sam wouldn’t wake up. Sam put his head back down on his arm and Dean, satisfied, continued placing two more sticky notes on Sam’s back. As Dean placed the last note, Sam sat up with a groan, rubbing his eyes as he woke up.

“Morning, baby.” Angela kissed Sam’s cheek sweetly. “How’d you sleep?”

“Mm, good,” Sam mumbled as he took Henry from his wife. “Hey, buddy.”

Dean jumped back and casually walked past his brother towards the chair at the end of the table as if he had just walked into the room.

“Dean?” Sam greeted, his voice still coated with sleep.

“Yeah?” Dean asked as he sat down.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Dean picked up a coffee cup. “Uh, whatcha readin’?”

Dean innocently sipped from his mug while Sam stared at him suspiciously. He inhaled deeply and looked down at one of the books.

“Well… um… we finally found something on the Seal of Solomon, but—it’s really weird.”

“Yeah? Hit me.” Dean sniffed his coffee before taking another sip.

“All right. The Mighty Solomon commanded unto his priests ‘Bind my Seal.’ But the jewel was of the cosmos.”

“Jewel of the cosmos?” Dean repeated. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” Sam shrugged. “Maybe a-a meteorite?”

“Mm. Yeah, maybe. Well, forget what it is. Where the hell would that be?”

Sam tossed his hand in frustration. “It doesn’t say.”

Dean sighed deeply. “Okay, so we’ve got blood of a holy man, we’ve got fruit from the Tree of Life, but this piece of Kryptonite, we’ve been through every book in this place, and we’ve got squat.”

“Yeah,” Angela muttered. “All right, I guess we should check the archives again. Sammy, can you put Henry down for a nap?”

“Sure, baby.” Sam pecked Angela on the lips.

“Great,” Dean mumbled sarcastically as he sipped his coffee again.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela walked into the archives and turned on the lights.

“All right,” Sam rolled up his sleeves. “Angie and I go left, you go right.”

Sam and Angela headed to the left side of the room and Dean dropped his head.

“I love books.” Dean groaned, even more sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Dean shook his fist in fake cheer and sluggishly moved toward the right side of the room. Eventually, Dean looked up from the book he was reading with an expression of success.

“What?” Angela asked.

“Nothin’,” Dean admitted with a shrug.

Angela rolled her eyes and the hunters continued reading through the books. Dean eventually threw his book in frustration.

~/~\~

Sam and Angela walked into the kitchen and Sam caught a glimpse of his back in the mirror. He saw the sticky notes and looked at Angela.

“Really?” Sam raised his brows. “You’ve just been letting me walk around like this?”

“I’m not getting involved in another prank war.” Angela defended. “Last time I did, I ended up with pink hair for a week.”

“Dean!” Sam huffed as he tried to pull the notes off of his shirt.

Dean came into the kitchen carrying a box. “Sa—Hey.”

“Are you serious?” Sam deadpanned.

“What?” Dean asked, causing Sam to point at his back angrily. “Oh, it’s hilarious. Forget that, look. The Men of Letters found it. Solomon’s treasure.”

“Where?” Angela asked.

Dean opened the box and pulled out some papers. “1917, in what is modern-day Israel. According to this,” he showed the couple the document. “They dug it up. And, uh, here, look at the, uh, right there.”

“Uh, among the items found—a crystal that glows with an unearthly light.” Sam read.

“That’s gotta be the Seal, right?”

“It’s gotta be.” Angela nodded. “Where is it?”

“Uh, uh, it says that they took it to uh… Cap… Capitalum Seven in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.”

“Capitulum Seven?” Sam asked.

“Yeah.”

“Capitulum means, uh, chapterhouse.”

“Yeah,” Dean shrugged, pretending he knew that.

“So, the Men of Letters has only one bunker, but they have smaller outposts all over the place,” Sam explained. “Capitulum One is in Jamestown. Capitulum Seven, I guess, is in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.”

“There it is.” Dean grinned. “Jinkies!”

“You’re gonna stop saying that eventually, right?” Angela asked.

“I don’t know. Probably not. Look,” Dean clapped his hands in enthusiasm. “Let’s go!”

~/~\~

_Portsmouth, Rhode Island_

The Winchesters had dropped off Grace and Henry at Jody’s and by that morning, they were pulling up outside of a boarded up old brick building. The three hunters got out and walked around the corner of the building.

“You sure this is it?” Dean asked skeptically.

“That’s what the map says,” Sam replied as they walked through an open fence.

“So where’s the door?” Angela raised her brows.

Sam noticed a manhole cover with some sort of symbol on it. “Guys.”

“Huh,” Dean muttered.

Angela brushed some of the leaves away, revealing a keyhole. “No way!”

“Ask questions, get answers.”

Sam pulled out a box with a key like the one for the bunker and put the key in the hole, unlocking the cover. The boys pushed the cover out of the way and Dean lowered himself down, then Sam.

“Baby, jump down and I’ll catch you,” Sam called out.

Angela jumped down the manhole, and Sam caught her easily. He gently set her down on her feet and the three hunters pulled out their flashlights.

“This way,” Sam nodded.

With a loud clank, the lights were turned on and the hunters turned a corner in a corridor strewn with books on the floor.

“Looks familiar, huh?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” Angela scoffed as she noticed an Aquarian Star with an eye at its center. “Except for that.”

“Hmm.” Dean hummed in agreement.

Sam, Dean, and Angela opened the door and turned on the lights. There were books all over the floor, desks, and tables.

“Great,” Dean groaned dramatically. “More books.”

“You love books.” Sam teased. “All right, look for anything on King Solomon.”

The three of them explored the room and Dean noticed a pile of pictures on the table and looked through them.

“Don’t know where to start, Dean,” Sam complained.

Dean ignored Sam’s comment when he noticed that one picture was apart from all of the others and picked it up. “Hmm.”

While Dean was staring at the photo, Sam and Angela found a portfolio of papers on one of the shelves.

“No way,” Angela gasped as she pulled the portfolio off of the shelf. “Dean?”

“Hmm?”

“Check this out,” Angela brought the portfolio to the table when they suddenly heard a woman’s voice in the distance.

“Who’s there?! Help me! Is someone there?!”

Sam, Dean, and Angela ran out of the room and up the stairs to a locked door. They managed to break it open and walked into the room, only to see a blonde woman chained to a table.

“Who are you?” the woman questioned.

“We’re here to help you,” Sam answered. “But…”

“How long have you been down here?” Angela frowned.

“I don’t know,” the woman replied as she struggled in her chains.

Dean frowned as he realized that this was the same woman from the photograph he had been looking at.

“You have to get me out of there,” the woman pleaded.

“Wait, are you… are you Sandy Porter? Born in 1903?” Dean asked.

“Yes,” Sandy nodded as Dean tapped Dean’s arm in confusion. “Thank God you found me.”

~/~\~

Sam closed the manhole cover, and he, Angela, Dean, and Sandy moved towards the Impala. Sandy was wearing one of Angela’s flannels over her flapper dress. Sandy looked up in awe as she saw an airplane flying by.

“That’s… not possible.”

“It’s true,” Angela replied gently. “Sandy, it’s 2018. You were down there for almost 100 years.”

“No. You’re lying.”

“Sandy, I know it’s a lot to take in, okay. But… Well, look, this is—what a car looks like now.” Dean gestured to the Impala. “Well, they should.”

Sam pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Sandy. “This… this is a phone, and a camera and… everything else.”

“Welcome to the future,” Dean added.

Sam gestured for Sandy to get into the car. “Please.”

~/~\~

Dean, Sam, Angela, and Sandy walked into the nearly empty diner.

“Sit anywhere you like, hon,” Joanne called out to Dean.

“Everything’s so… electric,” Sandy murmured as she looked at the lights.

Dean ushered Sandy into a nearby booth and she began to examine the tabletop jukebox. Dean noticed her fascination and pulling a coin out of his pocket, dropping it into the slot. Dean chose a song just as Joanne walked over.

“Folks, what’ll it be?”

“Uh, well, what’s good?” Sam asked.

“Well, people love the clam cakes, but if you ask me, you gotta try the stuffies.”

“I don’t know what stuffies are. I’ll take two.” Dean replied. “And the clam cakes.”

“Anything to drink?”

“Uh, water will be great.” Sam gestured at everyone at the table.

“Oh, that’s exciting,” Joanne replied with good-natured sarcasm, causing Angela to giggle. “It comes with a lemon. You sure you can handle that?” she added before turning to Sandy. “How about you, sweetie? Oh my goodness, you’re all skin and bones. When’s the last time you ate somethin’?”

“You know what, let’s get her the, uh, the—the meatloaf,” Sam replied.

~/~\~

“I don’t… How… How am I still alive?” Sandy questioned as they waited for their food to come.

“Um… we don’t really know yet,” Angela admitted.

“And… and how are you so calm about the fact that… I’m still alive?”

“This is kind of weird,” Dean started. “It’s sort of our thing.”

“I-I don’t know what that means.”

“It means that we can help you,” Sam replied. “We just have to, um… You know what, let’s start with the basics. How did you get down there in the first place?”

“I met this man,” Sandy answered. “He said he was… part of a secret club. I thought he was talking about a speakeasy or something. But he called it Men of… words?”

“Men of Letters?” Angela’s brows shot up.

“Yes, how… how did you know that?” Sandy frowned.

Dean sighed heavily. “Like I said, it’s sort of our thing.”

“Wait a second,” Sam frowned. “So these Men of Letters, they were the ones who—chained you down there?”

“I think. I… I…”

“Sandy, whatever happened down there, you’re safe now, okay?” Dean assured. “We’ll protect you. I promise.”

“There was chanting,” she recalled. “And then there was this… light. Like a… rip in the air. And it happened… They were using me to… to feed it.”

“To feed what?” Angela’s brows furrowed.

“The monster,” Sandy whispered in fear.

“Sure I can’t get you any coffee?” Joanne asked as she approached the table.

“Excuse me,” Sandy pushed past Sam to get out of the booth and headed towards the restroom.

“Sweetie, you okay?” Joanne called out in concern.


	34. The Thing Part 2

“Okay, what the hell?” Angela whispered. “I mean… we tested her for everything—holy water, silver, she passed it all, so…”

“Yeah, and she’s been down in a basement for 90 years,” Dean added. “How does she look the way she does? And this doesn’t sound like the Men of Letters either. I mean, they’re boring. They wear tweed. They smoke from pipes. They—they… don’t kidnap people.”

“Except, apparently, they did,” Sam muttered. “Oh, and this, uh the—the flash of light that Sandy talks about seeing, this rip in the air, sounds like—

“Like a rift.” Dean nodded. “So, what now? They’re opening doors to different worlds and—and ‘Buffalo Billing’ chicks?”

“And feeding a monster,” Angela replied. “So… not boring after all.”

“But all the Men of Letters died 60 years ago,” Dean noted.

“Longer than that.”

“So, then who’s been keeping her down there?” Dean asked.

“You know what? How ‘bout this? You stay here with Sandy, Angie and I’ll go back—

“No, no, no.” Dean cut Sam off. “What?”

“What?” Sam parroted.

“I’m not gonna let you guys go back there by yourselves.”

“Dean—

“No, this is what we’re gonna do,” Dean started. “We’re gonna find Sandy a motel room. We’re gonna teach her how to use the TV. Well, we’re gonna have to tell her what a TV is. And then we’re gonna go back together.”

“Here you go,” Joanne walked up to the table. “Veggie burger for you,” she set a plate down in front of Angela. “Lobster roll, no bun, and kale salad for you, String Bean.”

Joanne left to get the rest of their order and Dean looked disgustedly at Sam’s dish.

“Kale’s a garnish.”

“It’s healthy,” Sam retorted. “I’m watching my cholesterol, like you should be.”

“Yeah, I’m watching my cholesterol,” Dean mumbled. “Watching it go up.”

Sam took a forkful of his lobster roll while Angela took a bite of her veggie burger. Meanwhile, Buck and Amy were at the cash register.

“Well, I guess I will see you… later.” Buck told her.

Amy smiled at him as he handed her some money. Buck turned towards the door, but before he exited, he noticed several hooded figures outside.

“What the hell?”

While Buck’s confusion grew, Joanna came back with Dean’s food.

“Clam cakes.”

“Mmm.” Dean hummed.

“Two orders of stuffies,” Joanne added.

Dean caught Sam’s attention and gestured to the bit of green on his plate. “See? Garnish.”

“And, meatloaf for our young lady.” Joanne smiled.

Before Dean could take a bite, Buck turned around and looked at all of the other diner patrons.

“Hey. Something weird’s going on.”

Dean looked outside and frowned at the hooded figures. “Sam. Angie.”

Sam and Angela also noticed the people outside, but Sam began to cough while Angela began to feel drowsy.

“Go get Sandy,” Dean told the couple before noticing their distress. “Sam? Angie? Hey. Hey! Hey!”

Sam groaned as he passed out onto his arm and Angela followed suit. Dean’s frown deepened and he shook his head.

“Wait… wait.” He mumbled before he noticed Sandy walking back to the table. “Sandy!”

Suddenly, the electricity cut out, and the hooded figures streamed in through the door.

“Hey. Wait. Wait. What’s…” Buck cried as the cultists attacked him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey! Hey! Hey!”

“What’s going on?” Sandy asked worriedly.

Dean stood up and grabbed Sandy’s arm. “Sandy! Come here. Sit down.”

“Buck!” Amy cried out in fear.

Dean motioned Sandy into the booth while the cultists beat Buck. Amy screamed as Dean pulled out his gun. Just then, the cook rushed Dean with a curved knife and knocked Dean’s gun from his hand. The two men fought brutally and Dean flipped the cook away. Out of nowhere, a hooded figure attacked Dean, grabbing him by the throat and shoving him away from the table into the back wall of the diner.

Dean eventually got free and punched one of the cultists, then flipped him away as well. He kicked the hooded figure and went to pick him up when another cultist jumped on Dean’s back. Dean spun free but another figure was waiting and attempted to stab him. Dean blocked the knife, but the momentum carried him and the cultist through the kitchen doors. Dean slammed the cultist into the glass fridge and then into a metal shelf.

Back at the booth, Sam was groggily waking up, looking for his brother in the dark chaos. “Dean?”

“Sammy!” Dean called out.

“Dean.” Sam started to move towards Dean’s voice when the cook pulled a bag over his and Angela’s heads. “Hey! What are you doing?!”

The cook and several cultists dragged Sam and Angela out of the diner. Meanwhile, Dean grabbed a baking sheet and used it to hit the cultist choking him. Once the figure was knocked away, Dean used the sheet to block the knife that the cultist thrust at him. Ultimately, Dean tossed the sheet over his shoulder and grappled with his attacker. Dean grabbed a knife and was about to stab the figure when the point of a blade speared through the cultist’s chest, killing him. The body fell and Dean saw Sandy standing there with a bloody knife. Dean scrambled to his feet and ran out into the main room of the diner.

“Sammy?! Angie?!”

Dean picked up his gun from where it fell and Sandy came up behind him tentatively. Dean clenched his jaw when he saw hooded figures still surrounding the diner.

~/~\~

Dean was pouring a blue liquid into a glass bottle and stuffing rags into them to make Molotov cocktails. Sandy tentatively walked into the kitchen and frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“They took my brother and my sister-in-law,” Dean replied. “I’m gonna get ‘em back.”

~/~\~

Sam and Angela, heads out of the bags, were on their knees in front of the cook and a robed brunette woman.

“Who are you?” Sam demanded. “What do you want?”

“What you stole from us,” the cook replied as the woman removed her hood. “The monster.”

Angela’s brows creased in confusion. “The what?”

“Less a monster, more a god,” the woman corrected.

“A… Wait, what are you talkin’ about?” Sam asked incredulously.

“How’d you find out chapterhouse?”

“My—my family, we’re, uh—they were Men of Letters,” Sam answered.

The woman glanced at the cook. “So was ours.”

“Kinda,” the cook muttered.

“Kinda?” Angela echoed.

“Our great-grandfather, Diego Avila, was a member. Well, until he—

“Went psycho. Jim Jones style.”

“Pretty much. Diego fought in World War I,” the woman explained. “And after that, all he could see was blood and violence in this world, so he decided to fix it.”

“How?” Angela questioned.

“Summon a god from another dimension and start over.”

“Upon us we shall call forth new gods, Yokoth and her mate Glythur. And they will cleanse the world of hate and bring a new paradise,” the woman quoted.

“They summoned Yokoth, but didn’t exactly bring paradise.”

“It ate Diego and most everyone else. Then it tried to summon its mate before they bound it.”

“Men of Letters disavowed the whole deal. It banned all the survivors, closed down the chapterhouse tight. Our grandparents, our parents, us, we’ve been watching over it ever since.”

Sam swallowed heavily. “You mean… Sandy?”

“You’re trying to tell us that Sandy is a god from another dimension?” Angela asked.

“All she wants to do is eat.”

“And breed,” the cook added.

“Then why didn’t you kill it?” Sam demanded.

“You don’t think we’ve tried? As far as we know, she can’t die.”

“So, we have been keeping her locked up. Well, that is, until you came along.”

“So, you know, nice work on that one,” the cook sassed.

“When we saw what you did, we knew that we had to get her back. So, Marco slipped something into your food.”

“Oh, you don’t say.” Angela retorted sarcastically.

“We have been starving Yokoth for decades, keeping her weak. But if she gets food in her belly…”

“We’re all dead.” Marco finished.

~/~\~

Dean frowned when he heard Buck screaming from outside. He pulled out his gun and ran to the kitchen. Outside, Yokoth finished consuming Buck and withdrew her tentacle just as Dean came outside.

“Sandy?” Dean asked as he walked over to Yokoth, who stood up.

Yokoth turned to face Dean and shot a tentacle at the hunter.

~/~\~

Sam and Angela walked past the door to the diner when Joanne jumped out, brandishing a frying pan. She swung at the couple and Sam grabbed Angela, pulling her out of the way.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Sam yelled.

“String Bean!” Joanne gasped. “I thought you two were dead.”

“No, not yet,” Sam muttered. “Where’s my brother?”

“He came out to check on Buck,” Joanne answered when she noticed Marco and Ophelia walk into the parking lot. “It’s them!”

“No. Take it easy,” Angela replied. “They’re with us.”

“What?” Joanne gaped.

“It’s a long story,” Sam muttered as they walked towards Ophelia and Marco, taking in the dead cultists. “Oh, no! No, no, no.”

“She got food in her belly,” Ophelia murmured.

“Dean.” Angela gasped.

“If she fed on him, he would be here.”

“So what, then?” Sam questioned.

“It’s like we said, if she’s not feeding, she’s breeding,” Marco replied.

~/~\~

Dean was lying on the stone table that Sandy had been chained to. He slowly opened his eyes and took in the room. He attempted to sit up, but quickly realized that he was chained to the table.

“Sandy, what the hell?” Dean mumbled.

“Sandy’s dead,” Yokoth replied. “She’s been dead for a long time.”

“Okay. I’ll play.” Dean conceded. “What’s _your_ name?”

“Yokoth,” her eyes flashed purple. “Star of Madness. Ravager of Galaxies. Mother of Faceless Hordes.”

“Cool,” Dean muttered. “Let me guess. You’re not from around here.”

Yokoth opened a hidden compartment in the wall and pulled out a metal box. “I’m really not. When foolish humans opened the door, they had no idea what was waiting for them on the other side.”

“You mean you?”

“I mean us.” Yokoth quickly corrected. “It was supposed to be us. Glythur and I, together. But my love… they shut the rift before he could make it through.”

“Oh my God. That’s tragic. It’s like a Hallmark movie.” Dean replied with the utmost sarcasm. “But with tentacles.”

“I like you, Dean. You’re strong. And I enjoy looking at your face.”

“Whew. You’re making me blush.”

Yokoth grabbed Dean’s face and smiled. “That’s why I’m going to allow you to be Glythur’s host.”

“Sorry, what?” Dean paled. “The host?”

Yokoth opened the box and fetched the spell ingredients of blood and archangel grace. As she spoke, she added the ingredients to the chalice. “We’ve consumed most of our universe. But this one is so full of… light. And of life. And it looks…” she licked her lips with a tentacle that came out of her mouth. “It looks delicious.”

“Okay,” Dean started. “I don’t know what kind of kinky Gatekeeper-Keymaster thing you got going on here, but… I think I’ll pass.”

Yokoth shushed him with a finger to his mouth, silencing him with some sort of magic. She pulled out the Seal of Solomon and held it up. “Insanidox koth munto, Glythur.”

The purple light shot from the Seal and formed a rift on the ceiling.

“Insanidox koth munto, Glythur!” Yokoth repeated.

A tentacle dropped out of the rift and attempted to latch onto Dean, who dodged and struggled to avoid it. Behind Yokoth, Sam, Angela, Ophelia, and Marco rushed into the room. Yokoth turned and Angela shot her, which admittedly did nothing. Meanwhile, Dean pulled out a lockpick and began to attempt to free himself.

“She has the Seal of Solomon!” Ophelia exclaimed.

Yokoth shot tentacles at Ophelia and Marco, who dove out of the way. Sam and Angela tackled Yokoth, driving her back against the table. She hit Sam and Angela with her tentacles, knocking them down.

“You can’t kill me!” Yokoth seethed.

Finally, Dean managed to get his hand free and grabbed the Seal from Yokoth, and tossed it to Ophelia.

“Panto koth munto!” Ophelia chanted.

The Seal glowed purple light and Glythur’s tentacles grabbed Yokoth and dragged her back into the rift. Once the tentacles withdrew, the rift closed up.

“Dean,” Angela breathed out as she and Sam went to fully unchain him.

“Glad you guys could make it.” Dean sassed.

~/~\~

Dean, Angela, Sam, Ophelia, and Marco were walking out of the capitulum.

“So, that’s why we came.” Sam shrugged. “I mean, we—we need the Seal to get our family back.”

“If it could take us somewhere other than, uh, tentacle porn land—not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Dean rubbed the back of his neck.

“Ugh.” Angela wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Gross, Dean.”

“When you cast a spell, you need a guide,” Marco informed. “Something that’s been where you need to go. Got it?”

“Got it.” Sam nodded.

“Careful,” Ophelia warned. “When you open the door it only stays open for 24 hours. And you never know what’s on the other side.”

“Well, whatever it is, we’ll be ready,” Angela assured. “We always are.”

“I hope you’re right,” Ophelia replied as she handed Angela the Seal.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam, Dean, and Angela were walking down the bunker’s stairs, having just gotten home from picking the kids up from Jody. Angela held Henry, who was sleeping, while Grace held onto Sam’s hand.

“You sure you’re all right?” Sam asked his brother.

“Considering I was about three seconds away from being an interdimensional booty call, yeah, I’d say I’m all right.”

“Wha’s a booty call?” Grace asked innocently.

“Nothing,” Angela replied quickly. “Uncle Dean is talking nonsense, right?” she looked at Dean with her brows raised.

“Right.” Dean cleared his throat.

Sam chuckled at the scene as he set his and Angela’s bags down. “Well… we have the Seal. Right? So all we need now is an archangel and we’re set.”

“Sure, that sounds easy,” Dean replied sarcastically.

“Yeah.” Sam scoffed.

Suddenly, Ketch emerged from the library. The boys pulled out their guns while Angela stepped in front of Grace and held Henry protectively.

“Wait,” Ketch held his hands up.

“Son of a bitch.” Dean grumbled.

“I come in peace,” Ketch promised.

“Yeah, right.” Sam scoffed.

“And I brought you a gift.” Ketch ducked behind the arch and pulled Gabriel into view.

Sam’s eyes widened. “Wait a second. Is that—

“Gabriel?” Angela breathed out as Ketch pushed the angel into a chair. “No… no, that’s not possible.”

“He’s… he’s dead,” Sam muttered. “We—we saw him die.”

“Or did you?” Ketch questioned.

“What’d you do to him?” Dean demanded.

“Not me. Asmodeus. The Prince was holding him prisoner until I liberated the poor man. And I understand you may need an archangel for a spell, perhaps. Well, what luck.”

“We need his grace,” Angela replied.

At the mention of those words, Gabriel began to screech and moan in fear. Ketch grabbed him and immediately tried to calm the angel down.

“No, no, no, no, no. Calm down. Calm down. Nervy.” Ketch muttered as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a vial of grace. “Here,” he set it down on the table. “Take that. And, uh…” he pulled out an archangel blade. “The archangel blade.”

“Why would you…” Sam frowned. “What’s the catch? What do you want?”

“Protection. From Asmodeus.”

“The one you’re working for?” Angela asked incredulously.

“Was working for.” Ketch corrected. “But when he finds out that I stole his prize milk cow, well, I imagine he will hunt me to the ends of the Earth. So… this is the only safe place I know.”

Sam scoffed in disbelief. “What? Do you think you’re gonna just move in?”

“Dibs on the top bunk?” Ketch asked hopefully.

“No.” Sam and Angela replied in unison.

“Deal,” Dean said at the same time.

“What?” Sam turned to look at Dean in surprise.

“Dean, he’s gone so far as to tie up Grace in the past and you just—

“I don’t know what the hell’s going on here,” Dean admitted. “But if this helps us get Mom and Robert back, helps us get Jack back, then… sure. Whatever you want.”

~/~\~

Sometime later, Angela sat across from Gabriel in the library while Sam stood behind her. Angela was using a scalpel and tweezers to remove the stitches from Gabriel’s mouth.

“I’m sorry,” Angela apologized as Gabriel whimpered in pain. “Just a few more. I’m sorry.”

“Gabriel… Man, what happened to you?” Sam asked gently.

Before Gabriel could answer, Dean walked into the library with a ritual bowl and his bag.

“All right, let’s do this.”

“Well, shouldn’t we wait?” Sam asked.

“Wait? Why? We got everything we need.” Dean shrugged. “Everything else is just burning daylight. Come on. Let’s open this door.”

“All right.” Sam nodded. “Angie and I will grab our gear.”

“Uh… hold on,” Dean stopped him. “I’m heading in alone.”

Sam’s brows furrowed. “What?”

“That’s insane,” Angela added.

“Look, we got a busted up archangel here.” Dean gestured to Gabriel. “And who the hell knows what else. Okay? Somebody’s gotta stay here just in case.”

Ketch walked into the room, dressed for combat and carrying his bag. “And I’m coming with you. As I said, Asmodeus will be hunting me to the ends of the Earth, so it’s better if I’m not on this Earth.”

“It’s not much better over there,” Sam replied. “You know it’s a war zone, right?”

“Won’t be my first, shan’t be my last. Hmm.”

“Fine,” Dean told Ketch.

“Fine?” Sam echoed in disbelief. “So you want Ketch to go and not me or Angie?”

“I don’t care if he dies. Hell, I’m kinda rooting for it.”

“Still, you can’t—

“No, I have to.” Dean interrupted. “It takes something that’s been over there to open up the right door, so that’s either you or me. Angie hasn’t been there yet. So I’m gonna go. And if something happens to me, if—if—if time runs out, then I need you to come and save me, and save Mom, and save whoever else, okay?”

“It’s safer if we go together,” Sam argued.

“Oh, there’s no such thing as safer over there. You know that. I know you don’t like this, okay? I don’t expect you to. This is the way it’s gonna be.”

Sam conceded and prepared the spell. Dean pulled out some of his hair and put it in the bowl.

“Something that’s been there, right?”

“All right,” Sam muttered as he finished mixing the ingredients. “Remember, it’s only 24 hours.” He added as he grabbed the Seal. “Koth munto notox.”

The rift formed and Dean checked his watch, grabbed his bag, then looked at Sam and Angela.

“Okay,” Dean muttered.

Dean walked over to the rift, then turned back to look at the couple. Sam nodded minutely and grabbed Angela’s hand as Dean and Ketch walked through the rift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This episode always weirded me out tbh, tentacles just are not it for me lmaoo


	35. Bring 'em Back Alive Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh i loved when gabriel came back~
> 
> also omg i watch the finale last time and i cried so much :((

_Apocalypse World_

Dean and Ketch came through the rift and landed in the snow. The two men stood up and looked around.

“Ah, well… here we are.”

Dean looked around, confusion was evident on his face. “Yeah.”

“You _do_ know where we are, don’t you?” Ketch raised his brows. “Because, not to be a nag, but we’ve only got 24 hours before—

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Dean dismissed him. “Just give me—give me a minute.”

“—The rift closes.” Ketch finished.

“Look, we just got spin-cycled through space and time, okay? And yes, this is… different than my last drop-by. And what’s this ‘we’ crap, hmm?” Dean questioned. “You came here to save yourself, so… go so yourself, somewhere else.”

“Well, actually, I thought I could help,” Ketch suggested.

Dean stared at him in disbelief. “What?”

“Find the boy and Angela’s father. And your… mother.” Ketch replied. “She’s in danger. I owe her that.”

“You know, she sees you, she’ll probably kill you. Again.”

“Perhaps,” Ketch nodded in agreement. “But you don’t know where you are or what’s out there or even… You get the picture. Would having a little bit of backup really be so bad?”

Dean conceded and the two of them continued on together, walking alongside a river and underneath a bridge.

“Well, this is quite the vacation spot, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. If you had your heart set on Mai Tais, well… sorry.” Dean muttered when he spotted movement on the bridge. “Down. Down. Down. Down. Down.”

A group of soldiers walked onto the bridge with three prisoners, whose heads were covered with hoods.

“Is this everyone?” the Commander questioned.

“Yes, Commander.”

The Commander nodded. “For high crimes of fomenting rebellion against the archangel Michael, these humans shall be executed.”

One of the soldiers ripped the hood off of a woman while another soldier placed a hand on the woman’s forehead, smiting her.

“Freakin’ angels,” Dean grumbled as he reached for a weapon.

Ketch immediately stopped Dean and gave him a warning look. “Not smart.”

Dean watched as the second prisoner was executed in the same manner. The hood was removed from the third prisoner, but the Commander stopped the angel from killing her.

Dean’s eyes flashed with a spark of recognition. “No.”

“Wait.” The Commander ordered.

“Charlie?” Dean breathed out in disbelief.

“I know you,” the Commander noted as he looked Charlie over. “You’re not the usual human scum.”

“Not the slickest hook-up line, Captain Charm.” Charlie sassed.

“You’re with the Resistance,” the Commander sneered. “Inner circle. She’s met with the Nephilim and the other-worlders, Mary and Robert. Michael will want her at the Northern Camp, for interrogation.”

“Champ, when the Resistance crushes you, I’m gonna be there to shred your feathers and grind them into dust.”

The Commander grabbed Charlie by the throat and Dean moved to help her, but Ketch stopped him yet again.

“Dean…”

The Commander released his grip on Charlie and smirked darkly. “Looking forward to it.”

The angels disappeared into thin air, while Dean and Ketch looked on from their hiding spot.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam, Angela, and Castiel were walking through the corridors of the bunker. Sam was carrying a tray while Angela carried Henry.

“Look at you,” Angela cooed at her son. “You are getting so big! Yes you are.”

“Ba-ba.” Henry smiled a gummy smile at his mother.

“Dean is in Apocalypse World, alone?” Castiel questioned.

“No, he’s with Ketch, so he’s not alone,” Sam answered.

Castiel rolled his eyes. “Because that makes it so much better.”

“Cas, he wanted to go solo,” Angela replied.

“And you both let him?”

“I…” Sam sighed in exasperation. “He didn’t give us much of a choice. Anyways, Dean’s right. As long as he’s over there, and we’re here, we need to be taking care of Gabriel, getting him right again.”

Sam, Angela, and Castiel walked into one of the pitch-black bedrooms. Castiel flicked on the light.

“Gabriel?” Sam looked around the room.

Gabriel was huddled into a corner of the room. He was still in his torn, bloody clothing, and his face wasn’t healed yet.

“You didn’t tell me it was this bad,” Castiel whispered.

“Yeah, well, years of isolation and torture and Asmodeus draining his grace,” Sam replied. “Come here. Help me out.”

Sam, Castiel, and Angela walked over to Gabriel. Sam set down the tray and knelt down in front of the archangel.

“Hey, Gabriel. Hey, pal.” Sam greeted and the angel recoiled in terror as Sam touched him. “Mm! Okay. Oh—just… gonna get ya to bed, all right? Let me, uh, help you up. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Sam and Castiel assisted Gabriel onto the bed and the archangel continued trembling in abject terror.

“It’s okay,” Angela assured softly. “Gabriel, it’s Angie. You always used to call me ‘sweetcheeks,’ remember? Do you remember me?”

“I don’t think he does,” Castiel murmured after a beat of silence.

“Gabriel, it’s Sam Winchester. Remember the video you sent to my brother Dean Winchester, Angie, and me after you… supposedly died? You told us how to stuff Lucifer back in the Cage.”

“Sam, he doesn’t—

“I know he doesn’t.” Sam interrupted Castiel. “I’m just… trying to see if anything’s going on in his head. All right, well…” Sam lifted the lid of the tray to reveal a tube of angel grace. “Gabriel’s grace. Ketch brought it. Maybe if he’s juiced up, it’ll help.” He offered Gabriel the grace.

Gabriel immediately groaned and recoiled from Sam. “Mnh.”

“Gabriel, it’s okay,” Angela promised. “We’re not here to hurt you.”

“I don’t think he’s gonna open up and let the choo-choo in,” Castiel commented.

“What?” Angela’s brows furrowed while Sam just looked at Castiel in disbelief.

“It’s a technique I often see you use while feeding Henry,” Castiel replied. “And… I think a little coercion may be necessary.”

Sam and Castiel tried to hold Gabriel down, but he immediately started to thrash and yelp. He broke free and rushed to another corner of the room.

“Yeah, coercion worked great,” Angela muttered sarcastically as she handed Henry to Sam. “Gabriel,” she walked towards him cautiously. “Gabriel, we’re sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Aah! Aah! Aah!” Gabriel whimpered in fear.

Angela turned to look at the boys and just shook her head. Sam and Castiel looked dismayed and startled by how Gabriel reacted to them.

~/~\~

_Apocalypse World_

Dean and Ketch were walking through the snowy landscape. Dean looked around when he noticed that Ketch had disappeared.

“What’s the hold-up?” Dean shouted in frustration.

Ketch stepped out from behind one of the trees. “Oh, just practicing stealth. You know, the art of infiltrating a hostile and unfamiliar environment whilst remaining undetected. Hence, ‘free.’ Hence, ‘effective.’ You, I see, prefer the bull-in-a-china-shop technique.”

Dean rolled his eyes in annoyance. “No, I prefer the ‘let’s find Charlie before the angels turn her inside-out’ technique.”

“Remind me again why we’re risking everything to find this girl?”

“Because she’s seen my mom and Robert. She’s seen Jack.” Dean reminded sternly. “We need her.”

Ketch squinted at Dean in suspicion. “And you’re sure that’s what this is about? You’re sure it’s not… personal?”

Dean just glared at Ketch and glanced at his watch. “We’re running out of time. Let’s pick up the pace.”

The two of them continued walking and Dean groaned in a mixture of frustration and annoyance when Ketch disappeared again. Dean stopped and looked around, anger simmering inside of him.

“Ketch?” he shouted. “Come on.”

Suddenly, a man dressed in camouflage gear appeared out of nowhere and shot Dean in the shoulder. Dean immediately collapsed backward and groaned in pain.

Dean saw the man coming his way and attempted to crawl towards his weapons bag, to no avail. The man grabbed him and began fastening Dean’s arms behind his back as he struggled.

“Oh, you’re a strong one!” the man exclaimed. “Angels’ll pay double for you. Most of the slaves is a mite scrawny.”

Ketch came in from the side and tackled the man, easily throwing him to the ground. “Where were you going to take him?” he held a knife against the man’s throat. “You do want to live, yes?”

The man managed to push Ketch off of him and wrestled with Ketch, trying to take the knife away from him. Dean broke out of his binds and rose, firing his gun in the air. The man released Ketch and held his hands up in surrender.

“You heard him.” Dean glared. “Where were you gonna take me?”

“You think I’m gonna tell you?” the man asked, earning him a shot in the leg. “Aah!”

“Let’s try that again,” Dean ordered.

“The silo.” The man answered.

“What silo?!” Dean roared.

“P.O.W. camp. Four, five hours from here. Follow the road.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Dean knocked the man unconscious, holding his injured shoulder in pain.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

“Sam! Angela!” Castiel bellowed as he took in the Enochian scrawled all over the walls.

Sam and Angela rushed into the room and they both looked around the room in amazement and shock

“What is this?” Angela breathed out. “Is—Did he do this? Enochian?”

“It’s his story,” Castiel answered. “Starts with his death. Or… what appeared to be his death. ‘Per usual, my brother has doubly my brawn and half my brains. He assumed the counterfeit me was what vanished that night, and he thought that he’d stabbed the real thing. The truth is, the thing Luci skewered was a fake. There are plenty of fakes to go around. Everyone believed Gabriel was gone. And suddenly, I was free. No obligation to God or Heaven, or mankind. And so, I did what anyone would do—I moved to Monte Carlo and shacked up with porn stars.’” Castiel read. “Well… he goes on and on for quite a while about porn stars and, uh—

“Cas, please.” Sam urged him to continue.

“Okay, so Gabriel was captured, delivered to Asmodeus. ‘For years, I knew nothing but endless torture. Asmodeus, once the weakest of Hell’s princes, grew strong by feeding on my grace.’” Castiel read. “Well, obviously, his intellect is intact.”

“Yeah.” Sam agreed. “So, why isn’t he talking to us?”

“Would you want to talk to anyone after going through that?” Angela murmured as she stared at Gabriel sadly.

“Maybe he can’t,” Castiel suggested.

“Angie’s right,” Sam replied. “Maybe he thinks it’s safer this way.”

~/~\~

_Apocalypse World_

“That hunter may’ve been a bumpkin,” Ketch started as he inspected the man’s bullets. “But his weaponry is cutting-edge. These I don’t even recognize.”

“Yeah, that’s… Angel-killing bullets.” Dean replied. “Might wanna hang on to those.”

“Mm.” Ketch nodded.

Dean grimaced in pain and adjusted his bag. “Ah.”

“You don’t look good,” Ketch noted obviously.

“Yeah, well, you’re not my type, either.” Dean sassed. “I’m fine.”

“We’ll take a break. Your wound may be more serious than we thought.”

“Aw, he barely hit me.” Dean waved him off. “Come on, we don’t have time for this.”

“Eh, by all means. What was it with you and this Earthly ‘Charlie,’ anyway?” Ketch questioned. “Old girlfriend? Let me guess—she broke your heart.”

As Ketch spoke, Dean grunted and collapsed against a nearby tree.

“Dean.” Ketch knelt down in front of him and felt his forehead. “Oh, God, you’re burning up. Let’s take a look at that wound.”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Dean mumbled. “We gotta keep moving.”

“Do shut up. Huh?” Ketch ordered as he ripped open Dean’s shirt. Ketch frowned at the festering wound on Dean’s shoulder.

“How’s it look, Mom?” Dean muttered.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Castiel stood next to Gabriel, who was sitting on the bed, and had a hand on his head. Sam and Angela watched on in concern.

“I must reiterate—it’s not possible for an angel to heal an archangel,” Castiel explained. “I’m just trying to jolt his mind into thinking straight. Even then… Gabriel… it’s—it’s possible that he’s lost.”


	36. Bring 'em Back Alive Part 2

_Apocalypse World_

Ketch was working on a remedy for Dean’s wound. Dean was propped up on a rock and was clearly in quite a bit of pain.

“Taro root, trace of arsenic… basidiomycota… and…”

“Why don’t you just skip the birdseed, give me the flask?” Dean grunted.

“Your shortness of breath and delirium are symptoms of a poison the Men of Letters use to disable monsters in the field,” Ketch explained.

“Of course it is,” Dean muttered, not expecting anything different.

“My guess is that the bounty hunter used a similar toxin to coat his bullets to hobble his prey… at first.”

Dean glanced up at Ketch. “What do you mean, ‘at first?’”

“Well, if—if the antidote isn’t administered, then the victim dies a particularly gruesome death,” Ketch admitted.

Dean scoffed and shook his head. “You guys are such dicks.”

“Yes. Well… guilty.” Ketch prepared to administer the cure. “Now then… this will smart. There we are. Good lad.” He praised while Dean attempted to control his pain. “Good lad. Good lad. Here we go, just a little more. Right? There we are.”

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam sat on a chair at the end of Gabriel’s bed, while the archangel stared absently ahead. Sam sighed heavily and got up to leave. He stopped and turned to look back at Gabriel, to give it one more shot.

“Gabriel, you have to dig yourself out of this hole,” Sam started. “Look, I know you think it’s safer inside. No more torture. No more pain. No more expectations. I’ve been there. You were nothing like your family. You sure as hell weren’t like your dad. Me either. And just like you, I got out. Or I-I thought I got out. But then… then my family needed me. And this is my life. No matter how many times I tried to fight it, this is what I was put here to do. Through this life, I met Angie, a-and we have two _amazing_ kids. This is where I make the world a better place. And sure, yeah, hookers in Monte Carlo sounds great, but your family needs you. Jack, your nephew, needs you. The world needs you. We need you,” he begged. “Gabriel, I need you. So, please, help us.”

Sam stood there for a few moments, and his shoulders slumped when he only received silence. Sam blinked back oncoming tears and once again turned to leave the room.

“Porn stars,” Gabriel spoke up, catching Sam’s attention. “They were porn stars, Sam.”

As Sam turned around to face Gabriel, the archangel’s eyes glowed bright blue.

~/~\~

_Apocalypse World_

“Okay,” Dean grunted as he struggled to keep walking. “Okay, okay, okay, okay.” He stumbled and leaned against a nearby rock.

“This is absurd,” Ketch noted. “You must rest.”

“Okay, look… I-I’ll give you that… anti-poison merit badge award, okay? I do appreciate it, but… we’re running out of time. So… how about you rest? I’m gonna keep going.” Dean started to walk again before promptly collapsing. “In five minutes.”

“Good plan.” Ketch nodded. “Perhaps we can use this moment to revisit the Charlie issue.”

“Not gonna happen,” Dean grumbled.

“To your point, we are running out of time. We don’t know where your mother, Angela’s father, and Jack are. We don’t even know if we’ll find this Charlie. And if we do, a rescue may be impossible and stupid. I propose we return home, regroup, reinforce ourselves, and we may have a shot at saving everyone.”

“All right, look, I’m gonna…” Dean grunted as he pulled himself up. “...Repeat myself. Charlie’s not gonna give the angels what they want.”

“Your Charlie wouldn’t.”

“They’re gonna kill her, 100-percent, and I’m not…” Dean trailed off.

“What?” Ketch pressed. “What’s the story you’re not telling me?”

“Charlie was like family,” Dean answered. “She was a sister to me. She did more for me, Sam, and Angie than I can even say. And she was…” he clenched his jaw. “She was butchered. And we couldn’t get there in time, and I…”

“You feel you failed her.”

“I know I did.”

“That, I understand,” Ketch mumbled.

“Uh, hello? What about your story you’re not telling me?”

“Oh, I’ve had many failures… friends and colleagues who have died on my watch. Only difference is, I didn’t… try to save them. ‘Duty’ and all that… rubbish.”

“Well, you do suck.” Dean sassed.

“What the hell? Perhaps rescuing this Charlie will wash some of the stain off my hands.”

“Impossible and stupid, huh?” Dean smiled. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Come on.”

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Gabriel inhaled his grace as Sam, Angela, and Castiel watched on hopefully.

“Is it helping?” Castiel asked.

“I… I don’t know.” Gabriel admitted.

Angela was about to say something when her phone started ringing. “Hello?”

 _“Angela,”_ Asmodeus’s voice rang through and Gabriel flinched at the sound of his voice. _“I hope you’re having a pleasant day. It’s come to my attention that you have something that belongs to me, and I’d like it back.”_

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Angela lied.

_“Oh, I believe you do. And I’m-a give you one chance to return him to me. No harm, no foul.”_

“I’m hanging up,” Angela replied firmly.

 _“Do not hang up on me!”_ Asmodeus snapped. _“Gabriel is of no use to you in his current condition. Should you choose to resist me, I will have no choice but to take him by force. I will reduce you and that sad little bunker of yours to ashes. You got 10 minutes to decide. Now you can hang up, darlin’.”_

~/~\~

_Apocalypse World_

Dean and Ketch approached the P.O.W. camp and Dean noticed the silo.

“Silo. No, he wasn’t kidding.”

“Gratifying,” Ketch mumbled. “Now what?”

Dean reached into his bag to prepare the weapons. Meanwhile, inside the P.O.W. camp, the angels prepared to execute Charlie. The prisoners were lined up against the fence and the Commander came out of the building.

“The Resistance will be broken,” he addressed the prisoners. “It is being broken,” he assured as two other angels tied Charlie to a post. “One by one, your leaders are being rooted out and destroyed. Soon, there’ll be none of you left.”

“No!” Charlie cried out. “No! No!”

“For high crimes, the prisoner, Charlie Bradbury, like all traitors before her, will be executed.”

Charlie struggled against her binding as the executioner came outside holding a large blade. Meanwhile, Dean and Ketch frantically organized their weapons.

“All hail Michael.” The Commander smiled darkly.

The executioner raised the blade just as Dean threw a grenade. The prisoners fled as it exploded while the angels looked around. Dean and Ketch began firing their weapons and the Commander easily teleported away.

“We gotta get you outta here,” Dean untied Charlie.

Charlie’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Who the hell are you?”

“No time! We gotta go now! C’mon!”

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Gabriel held his head in his hands, rocking back and forth while Castiel looked on in concern. Sam and Angela returned to the room.

“Gracie and Henry are in her room,” Angela noted.

“All right, I did what I could to help the bunker’s warding,” Sam started. “But who knows if it’s enough. How’s he?”

“I don’t know,” Castiel answered.

Suddenly, the lights in the bunker cut out and the emergency generator and alarm kicked into action. Gabriel looked around frantically as the bunker became engulfed by red lights.

As Sam, Angela, and Castiel, angel blades in hand, walked down the corridors, they noticed that the warding was illuminated. They walked into the map room and a few demons ambushed them. Sam stabbed one of the demons, killing him, while another one tackled Angela. Meanwhile, Castiel fought another demon, eventually getting the upper hand.

Sam ran over and pulled the demon off of Angela and leaned down, stabbing him directly in the chest. Sam pulled Angela to her feet and looked her over.

“Are you okay, baby?” Sam asked concernedly.

“I’m good,” she nodded. “Thanks.”

Suddenly, she, Sam, and Castiel were thrown across the room. Asmodeus sauntered into the room confidently.

“Your warding wasn’t designed for the likes of me, Samuel. I’ve come to claim what’s mine.”

Two other demons came out, dragging a terrified Gabriel with them.

“Oh, I missed you, boy,” Asmodeus smirked at the archangel. “I’m-a have to punish you rather severely, I’m afraid.” He added as the demons dragged Gabriel to the top of the balcony. “And as for you three..”

Asmodeus flicked his hands and Sam, Angela, and Castiel immediately started writing in pain.

“Aah!” Angela cried out in pain.

“Ugh! Aah!” Sam grunted.

On the balcony, Gabriel’s eyes glowed blue and he was no longer cowering. He threw the demons down the stairs and Asmodeus looked up in surprise.

“Gabriel!” he shouted. “What are you doin’, son? You know too well what I can do to you. I broke you!” he continued as Gabriel healed himself. “You’re too weak!”

The light glowed around Gabriel and Asmodeus threw a ball of angel grace in his direction. Gabriel easily deflected it and stood tall.

“Not anymore. Oh, and by the way, I always hated that dumbass suit.”

Gabriel gestured towards Asmodeus and set him on fire. Sam, Angela, and Castiel were released from his hold as Asmodeus died painfully.

~/~\~

_Apocalypse World_

Dean, Ketch, and Charlie were trudging through the snow and headed back to the rift.

“So, to recap, there’s another world, a ‘better’ world, with no Michael, and it has another me?” Charlie questioned.

“Well, had.” Dean corrected.

“And you were friends with her. Me? Her?”

“Yes. Very.”

“How very?” Charlie asked skeptically.

“Well, she was into chicks.”

“Oh.” Charlie smiled. “I like her.”

“Look, I know this is a lot of information,” Dean replied. “Everything I’m telling you, okay, but… we’re running out of time here. I need to know where the Nephilim is—Jack. And—and my mom and sister-in-law’s dad are with him, right?”

“Mom? Dad?” Charlie’s eyes widened.

“Yes. They’re from our world, too.”

“Uh… Last I heard, they were fighting somewhere in what remains of Dayton, Ohio.” Charlie answered. “But, I don’t… Wait. Mom? Dad?”

“Yeah.”

“Any why would I believe any of this?”

“Because of that.” Dean pointed to the glowing rift.

Charlie’s mouth dropped in disbelief. “Wow.”

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam, Castiel, Angela, and Gabriel were in the map room. Angela held Henry while Grace sat on Sam’s lap.

“Whoa. Too much information,” Gabriel started. “Okay, slow down. I’m not… processing.”

“And there’s more,” Castiel sighed deeply. “Michael wants to come to this Earth and destroy it, and we may need your help to fight him.”

“What?”

“Yeah.” Sam breathed out a small laugh. “Welcome to the team.”

“Uh… Yeah. Not so much.” Gabriel replied. “I mean, thank you for the rescue and for the redemption arc. But, uh, I’m not really a team guy, so… I’m gonna bounce, okay? Um, but, you know, it’s been, um… What’s the _opposite_ of fun? That.”

Sam frowned deeply and his eyes filled with disappointment. “No, Gabriel, don’t—you—you can’t just walk away. If Michael comes here, he will end this world.”

“And the last time the world was ending, I put my money on you. I think you can pull it off again.”

“No,” Castiel replied firmly. “You cannot turn your back on your father’s creation.”

“Castiel… my father turned his back on his creation.” Gabriel reminded. “Guess it just runs in the family.”

“No, Gabriel, please.” Angela practically begged. “We need your help.”

“Sorry, sweetcheeks.” Gabriel shook his head before he disappeared.

~/~\~

_Apocalypse World_

“Okay. The thing’s gonna be closed any minute. We gotta go.”

“Dean, you need to go through,” Ketch replied. “Bring back Sam, Angela, your angel, and Gabriel and the bloody Navy SEALs, whatever help you can get. But I should stay.”

“Wait,” Dean frowned. “What?”

“If we’re going up against Michael, we need to be ready. We need to know what he’s up to, where your mother, Robert, and Jack are.”

“I’m staying, too,” Charlie added.

“Are you kidding me?!” Dean snapped. “You got Michael and a billion angels on your ass.”

“Dude, this is my home!” Charlie argued. “My friends are here and they’re in trouble. If you really do have a way to take down Michael, get back here and do it. Until then, this is my fight.”

“I don’t wanna lose you again,” Dean admitted.

“That’s not your call.” Charlie reminded.

“Dean, it’s closing.” Ketch nodded to the rift.

Dean looked at the rift and back at Charlie, handing her the gun with the angel-killing bullets. The Commander and several angels walked down the path.

“Go!” Ketch ordered.

Dean jumped through the rift while Charlie and Ketch began firing.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean stumbled back through the rift and landed in the bunker.

“Dean!” Sam exclaimed. “Dean! Hey! Hey. Hey. You’re hurt.”

“No, no.” Dean shook his head. “I’m fine. I’m fine.”

The rift started to disappear and Sam frowned.

“Hey, the—the—the rift, it’s…” he started as it closed. “Where’s Mom and Robert? Where’s Jack?”

“Long story—so Mom, Robert, and the kid, they’re not with Michael anymore. Ketch and Charlie are staying back to try and find them. There’s a Charlie over there. She kicks ass.”

“Charlie Bradbury?” Angela asked in disbelief.

“Yeah.” Dean nodded as he took in the mess in the bunker. “What’s this? What—what… What’d I miss?”

“There was a demon incursion, led by Asmodeus,” Castiel answered.

“Sorry, Asmodeus got in here?”

“Yeah, and—and—and Gabriel killed him,” Sam replied.

“Gabriel? That’s great. So, he’s back. Where is he?”

Sam, Angela, and Castiel visibly deflated at the question.

“He just left,” Castiel said after a beat of silence.

Dean frowned, confused. “What do you mean, he left?”

“Um… We asked Gabriel to help us, and then… then he said ‘no.’”

“He doesn’t get to say ‘no!’” Dean snapped. “We still have his grace though, right? Sam? Angie?”

“Uh, we—we used his grace to—to heal him,” Angela explained. “So, it—it’s gone. It’s all gone.”

“So, if it’s gone, then that means that we can’t open that door again. If we can’t open the door, I should’ve never come back!” Dead yelled and he threw his hand across the table, scattering things onto the floor. “Son of a bitch!” he roared and Henry started to cry at the noise. “Every time!”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, baby.” Angela cooed at her son.

Dean put his hands on his head and turned away from his family. “Every time we get close, it always falls apart. Every freakin’ time.”

“Dean… we _will_ find Gabriel. We will.” Castiel assured.

Dean dropped his hands in defeat. “We better.”


	37. Funeralia Part 1

_Lebanon, Kansas_

The Winchesters sat at the table in the main room of the bunker while Castiel stood next to the table, all of them waiting for Rowena to answer the phone.

 _“Hello, Winchesters,”_ Rowena’s voice finally rang through. _“I’m very sure I’ve done nothing that you know of to make you want to call, but how lovely to hear from you.”_

“Rowena, that’s not… we, um—

 _“You’ll have to speak up,”_ Rowena instructed Sam.

“We need your help.” Dean reluctantly admitted.

 _“Really?”_ the witch gasped in surprise.

“We must assemble our most powerful allies to rescue our family and confront the archangel Michael,” Castiel explained. “Now, he’s in an alternate universe, so—

 _“Ah, the handsome angel is there, isn’t he?”_ Rowena cooed. _“Hello, Tweetie Pie.”_

Castiel shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted awkwardly. “Um, hello.”

 _“Obviously I’d love to help after what you—Sam—did for me,”_ Rowena started. _“But I’m in the damp Pacific Northwest right now working on my own little project.”_

“Project?” Angela asked.

“What project?” Sam demanded.

 _“Oh, nothing for you to worry about,”_ Rowena assured. _“Just checking a few items off my little to-do list.”_

“Sure, that doesn’t sound ominous.” Dean scoffed.

Sam frowned when he heard music and chattering in the background. “Rowena, are you at a… party or something?”

_“I am, but I’m surprised you recognize the sounds of a party, seeing as how you’re all work and no play.”_

“Look, we didn’t call to talk.” Angela huffed. “We… the world is in danger, Rowena.”

 _“And I’m currently surrounded by art that makes me think the world should be in danger. Best of luck to you. Mwah,”_ she bid farewell before she hung up.

“Dammit.” Dean threw his head back in frustration.

“You know,” Castiel squinted. “She’s right. You _never_ go to parties.”

Sam and Dean exchanged looks of disbelief while Angela could barely stifle her laugher. Dean just shook his head.

~/~\~

Dean fixed himself a cup of coffee while Castiel stood at the kitchen table.

“You know what? Forget Rowena. There’s gotta be some other way we can track down Gabriel and hijack his grace.”

“Even though he could be any place on Earth?” Castiel asked.

“Yes.”

“Or technically, anywhere in the entire universe.” Castiel corrected.

“I didn’t say it was gonna be easy, but, uh… All right, some on. Ideas.” Dean closed his eyes and rubbed his hands together. “Come on. Here we go,” he sipped his coffee and gave up after a few silent moments. “Nah. I need a real drink. I’m gonna get a beer. You wanna beer?”

“No,” Castiel answered.

“I’ll get a beer.” Dean nodded.

“The angels.” Castiel’s eyes lit up.

“What?” Dean asked as he opened the fridge and pulled out two beers.

“Maybe Heaven could help us,” Castiel suggested.

“Ah, not for nothing, but don’t the angels mostly want to kill you?” Dean slid one of the beers to Castiel.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Castiel nodded. “This would be something of a Hail Mary.”

“Hmm.” Dean nodded, almost impressed with Castiel’s use of slang.

“It’s a sports term, like slam dunk, or, uh… ball handler,” Castiel informed.

“That’s,” Dean pursed his lips. “Uh… mnh-mnh. No, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Well, Dean, we don’t have any good ideas.”

“Okay, just… let’s just not barrel through with that like, uh, you know, like the Donatello thing.” Dean reminded pointedly.

“We had our disagreement, but we got results.”

“That don’t make it okay.”

“I hear your concerns, and yes, the angels loathe me, and there’s going to be dangers, but Heaven doesn’t want the world to end any more than we do,” Castiel explained as Sam and Angela walked into the kitchen. “This is—This is something that I have to try.”

“We got a problem.” Angela sighed heavily.

“Another one? Awesome.” Dean muttered sarcastically.

“All the stuff that Rowena said on the phone—uh, Pacific Northwest, art gallery, party—I-I think we found her.” Sam handed the tablet to Dean.

“A rich lady exploded?”

“Yeah.” Sam nodded. “Uh, local cops are—are calling it spontaneous combustion. Pretty much.”

“Well, that does sound like Rowena.” Castiel mused.

“I knew it.” Dean shook his head. “I freaking knew it, man. You gave her that page. What’d you think was gonna happen?”

“Sam just wanted Rowena to be able to protect herself.” Angela reasoned.

“Yeah, by barbecuing someone?”

“We don’t know what this is yet,” Sam argued. “Maybe she had a reason to—

“Doesn’t matter what the reason is. That’s not okay!” Dean snapped.

“Okay,” Sam nodded. “I said if Rowena goes bad again I’d deal with it, so I’ll deal with it.”

“You better,” Dean replied firmly. “Cas, you wanna try this angel thing, then go for it. Just don’t get dead again.”

~/~\~

The Impala sped down the dark highway and Sam huffed when he couldn’t get in touch with Rowena.

“Still no answer?” Dean questioned.

“Yep, still no answer,” Sam mumbled.

“You know I don’t wanna be right about this, but… I mean, look, I want the fun flirty Rowena that mostly helps us, but you gotta be ready for, uh… not that.”

Suddenly, Jessica appeared in the backseat in between Grace and Henry’s car seats. “Or maybe she just has bad cell reception.”

Dean slammed on the brakes and pulled over. The three hunters got out of the car and confronted Jessica.

“What the hell?!” Dean shouted angrily.

“You almost caused a wreck!” Angela shouted.

“Who are you?” Sam demanded.

“Hi, Dean.” Jessica smiled.

“Wait…” Dean’s brows furrowed in recognition. “Jessica?”

“So, you know her?” Sam raised his brows.

“Yeah, she’s a reaper. She tried to take me into the light. Didn’t work out.”

“It really didn’t. And honestly, it’s been a little sad watching you go this long without telling Sam and Angela about me.”

“Hold on a second,” Sam frowned. “What do you mean ‘watching?’”

“Well, after Dean’s little trip to the Veil, Death asked me to keep an eye on you three, in case,” Jessica explained.

“In case of what?” Angela questioned.

“This, I guess. I don’t ask Death questions. Never goes well.”

“So what, you—you’ve just been… hovering around us, invisible, like a—like a babysitter?” Sam asked.

“No, no more like a baby monitor,” Jessica corrected.

Angela’s face paled slightly. “A-and you’ve seen, like—

“Oh, _everything_ , Angela,” Jessica smirked knowingly.

“Oh, God,” Sam muttered.

“You mean, like, _everything_ , everything?” Dean raised his brows.

“I’m especially fond of Sam’s impressive… _extensive_ array of hair products,” Jessica replied before looking at Dean. “Not to mention, the three-day-old bacon cheeseburger in your room, or the VHS tape hidden under your bed labeled ‘Sweet Princess Asuka Meets the Tentacles of Ple—

“Okay, all right, all right,” Dean cut her off quickly. “That’s not cool, okay? That’s—First of all, that’s a classic. Secondly, the burger’s for emergency cases only.”

“Okay. Gross.” Sam looked at Dean in disgust. “Now why are you just manifesting now?”

“People in Portland have been dying outside of their assigned times,” Jessica explained. “Because apparently someone has become powerful enough to do that.” She gave Sam a pointed look.

“Rowena?” Sam asked.

“So, I’ve been instructed to offer my assistance as a resource.”

“Wait, you said people are dying, as in more than one,” Angela noted.

“Four. So far.”

“Yeah, okay, well, uh, we’re handling it,” Sam replied.

“But if you need anything—

“We don’t, and we won’t.” Sam interrupted.

“Cool. Well, I’m around. Always.” Jessica reminded before she disappeared.

“Okay. Well you know, we could’ve actually used her help.” Dean told Sam.

“Dean’s right,” Angela added. “We have no idea how powerful Rowena is.”

“We could… Seriously?” Sam asked incredulously. “You guys trust her?”

“No,” Dean huffed. “But between the—the reapers and Death, the hell’s this witch gotten us into, huh?”

~/~\~

_Portland, Oregon_

The Impala pulled up outside of the LaVeau and the three hunters, dressed in their FBI apparel, got out of the car. Sam and Angela took the kids out of the car and they all headed towards the building.

“Okay Gracie, I need you to sit in the lobby with your brother, okay?” Angela looked at her daughter. “And you have to be _really_ careful with him. We shouldn’t be long.”

“Kay, Mommy.” Grace nodded as Angela led her to a nearby bench.

“Grace, your brother is just starting to crawl, so you have to hold him the entire time,” Sam instructed. “Understand?”

Grace nodded in confirmation as Angela gently put Henry in her arms. Henry babbled and smiled up at his sister.

“Okay. We’ll be right back.” Sam assured as they started walking towards the crime scene. “Uh, the victim’s name was Elizabeth Mahler. I’m in her e-mails right now.”

“Anything look like Rowena bait?” Dean asked.

“Hard to say,” Sam replied. “Um… so Mahler was the CFO of a local pharmaceutical company. Getting a lot of traction on the lo—Oh, wow.”

“What, baby?” Angela asked.

“Look at this…” Sam showed Angela and Dean the article on his tablet. “Pirodine pharmaceuticals. According to this article, they sold thousands of improperly labeled drugs.”

“So, what, people got sick?” Dean asked.

“People died.” Sam corrected. “Uh, wow. Mahler’s lawyer got her off on a technicality.”

“Okay. So, what? You think she deserved it?”

“No, I’m done defending Rowena, okay? I’m—I’m just reading what’s there.”

“Okay, I have a question. If that’s Elizabeth Mahler,” Dean pointed to a second burn mark. “Who the hell is that?”

“I don’t know,” Sam admitted. “Article only mentioned one person. Wait a second. I’ve seen something like that before,” he realized and started searching on his tablet. “No way. That is what’s left of a reaper.”

“I have an idea…” Dean muttered. “Get the kids, let’s go.”

~/~\~

Sam and Angela followed Dean outside with Grace and Henry.

“What?” Sam asked his brother.

“Yo! Jessica!” Dean called out.

“Hi,” she appeared with a smile.

“Hi. So, uh, that dead reaper in there, is that why you’re all of a sudden so interested in helping?” Sam questioned.

“I’m glad you’re ready to chat now,” Jessica replied. “This will be a positive experience.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Okay, you can drop the whole warm and fuzzy thing.”

“That’s just a useful affect. I’m still an instrument of death.”

“You know, you could have just told us that Rowena was killing reapers,” Angela replied.

“And I would have, but your husband said you were ‘handling it.’” Jessica reminded.

“Okay, all right. Talk.” Dean ordered.

“Rowena’s changing people’s fates. She’s killing them before their time and when a reaper shows…”

“She torches them, too.” Sam finished.

“Yes,” Jessica confirmed.

“Why?” Dean’s brows furrowed.

“You’ll have to ask her when you stop her,” Jessica answered. “Because if she keeps this up, she’s going to throw off fate. The whole greater machinery of death.”

“That means…”

“Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?”

“Ashton’s second-best movie,” Dean replied obviously.

Sam shot Dean an incredulous look before looking back at Jessica. “Yes, of course. Uh, uh, one small mistake can—can cause all kinds of bad. What about it?”

“If just one person dies before their time, a lot of things that were supposed to happen, don’t. The ripple effect from just one early death can affect hundreds of lives. And changing their fates changes even more fates until things just become sincerely unfortunate, and we have to hit the reset button.”

Angela’s brows creased together. “What does that mean?”

“Usually? A mass kill off.” Jessica replied. “Like the Black Plague or a mid-sized war. Something to wipe the board clean. So… your help in avoiding that would be greatly appreciated, by everyone.”

“If it’s so bad, why don’t you stop her?” Dean asked.

“You’ve met Billie, right? She’s got rules. Clean hands. No interference. Well, no direct interference, anyway. We can’t stop her, but you can.” Jessica looked directly at Sam.

“What, me?” Sam asked in confusion.

“Death keeps notebooks with all the ways a person might die, depending on their choices. Dean’s seen his.”

“I gotta whole shelf,” Dean added.

“But in Rowena MacLeod’s notebook, her death is always the same—She’s killed, Sam Winchester, by _you._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean in this episode is just *chef's kiss*, I love him~


	38. Funeralia Part 2

Dean was driving the Impala while Sam and Angela looked at the articles on his iPad, and the kids were in the back seat, sleeping.

“Okay, it definitely looks like she’s working her way through these Pirodine pharmaceutical people,” Sam noted.

“Have any idea who’s next?” Dean asked.

“No,” Angela shook her head. “Everyone mentioned in the articles are already dead.”

“Wait a second,” Sam frowned. “Except for James Melford, the, uh CEO.”

“Alright, what do we know about him?”

Jessica appeared in the back seat in between the kids. “He’s dying.”

Dean flicked in surprise and banged the steering wheel in frustration. “Stop doing that!”

Sam’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean he—he’s—

“James Melford’s already bound for hell,” Jessica informed. “But his time of death just shifted.”

“To when?” Angela questioned.

“Now.”

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela stood at the site of Melford’s death and examined the ashes.

“Well, so much for James Melford,” Dean commented.

“And Martin,” Jessica knelt down next to the second pile of ashes. “His reaper. His name was Martin.”

A heavy silence hung in the air for a few moments before Sam’s phone started ringing.

“Here we go. Rowena.” Sam answered, putting the phone on speaker.

 _“I don’t suppose there’s any way you’ll simply leave me to my business before something unfortunate happens?”_ Rowena asked.

“Oh, you’re starting off with a threat. Nice.” Sam scoffed.

_“I would never. But this doesn’t involve you three.”_

“You’re killing people,” Dean retorted. “It involves us.”

 _“Mm, if you’d let me explain…”_ Rowena cooed.

“You think this is something you can just explain away? I trusted you.” Sam replied angrily.

_“I know that, Sam. I’d just rather not talk about this over the phone. I’ll text you an address. Meet me there in half an hour.”_

“And then what?” Angela questioned.

 _“You believe me or you don’t. Either way, the drinks are on me.”_ Rowena replied before hanging up.

“Dammit.” Angela sighed heavily.

“I don’t like it.” Dean shook his head. “I mean, that’s the over-under this is a trap?”

“Well, it’s Rowena. Of course it’s a trap.” Sam muttered.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela sat at a table in the hotel bar. Angela held Henry while Grace was curled up in Sam’s lap.

“Heads up.” Dean nodded to Rowena and Bernard.

“Boys. Angela.” Rowena greeted as she sat down.

“What’s the with goon?” Dean gestured to Bernard.

“Just a precaution,” Rowena answered. “We’re all wary, aren’t we? Surely you’ve got your witch-killing bullets handy?”

“Rowena, this isn’t why I helped you. Were you just playing me the whole time?” Sam asked, a twinge of hurt in his voice.

“Of course not. But once I unlocked my power, I couldn’t just hide away. I realized I can right some wrongs that are long overdue.”

“By killing innocents?” Angela raised her brows.

“Innocents?!” Rowena repeated incredulously. “These drug company people, they lied about their product for money—money they used to avoid the law. They’ve hurt thousands of sick people, which makes them far worse than most of the monsters you’ve killed. I’m striking a blow for justice.”

“Yeah, then why are you killing reapers?” Sam asked.

“Well… they’re just a means to an end. It’s not easy to get Death’s attention.”

“Well, trust me, that’s not the kind of attention you want,” Dean replied.

“Oh, but it is. Death has something I want.”

“What’s that?” Angela asked.

“My son,” Rowena answered. “After you told me he was gone, how he died, I had an _unexpected_ reaction. We had our differences, but it’s my fault he went down the path he did. I left him.”

“We’re talking about Crowley—demon, King of Hell?” Dean asked.

“We’re talking about Fergus—a man abandoned and loveless, tricked by a demon, died in a gutter. He deserved better from the world. From me.”

“Well, Crowley’s dead. There’s no coming back from that.” Dean told Rowena.

“Oh, is that so, Dean?” she sneered. “Are only Winchesters allowed to come back from the dead? The rest of us just have to accept it? I don’t think so. I’m putting Death on notice.”

“All right. Well, she’s taken notice.” Sam informed.

“She? Interesting.”

“And she’s upset. But you can quite this before—

“I’m not afraid and as much as I enjoy our little talks, you can’t stop me.”

“Actually, we can.” Sam corrected.

“And what makes you think that?”

“Because every version of your death, your real, permanent death, Sam’s the one who kills you,” Angela explained.

“I see.” Rowena pursed her lips.

“Yeah, but it’s not gonna happen tonight.” Sam leaned forward to handcuff Rowena but frowned when she disappeared in a pall of purple haze.

“I hope you don’t mind astral projection?” Rowena smirked. “Safety first.”

Rowena and Bernard took their chance to escape down a nearby hotel corridor. Sam set Grace down next to Angela and chased after Rowena.

“Rowena!” he shouted. “Hey, Rowena! Hey!”

Dean and Angela ran after them, Grace clutching her mother’s hand. In the corridor, Angela knelt down and handed Henry to Grace.

“Stay here, don’t move,” Angela instructed as Dean ran into Bernard’s forearm.

Bernard punched Dean and threw him across the room, and Angela took her chance to jump in. She kicked Bernard in the abdomen, but he easily bounced back and punched her square in the nose.

“You know she’s controlling your brains.” Dean glared at Bernard.”

“She’s powerful,” he took off his tie. “She’s gorgeous, and she’s paying me a small fortune. That woman didn’t have to cast a spell on me.”

Dean and Angela launched themselves at Bernard and the fight between them quickly resumed. Bernard threw Angela into the wall and she grunted in pain. Dean swung at Bernard but was quickly shoved to the ground and put in a chokehold.

~/~\~

Rowena ran out to the alley, followed by Sam, and he aimed a gun at her.

“Rowena, stop!” he bellowed. “Stay right there. Listen to me. I get what you’re trying to do for Crowley, but you’re messing with the machinery of the universe. Death won’t give you want you want. You have to stop.”

“I can’t stop, Samuel.” Rowena shook her head. “You’ll have to shoot me.”

Rowena turned to face him and Sam, clearly conflicted, eventually pulled the trigger. Much to Sam’s surprise, Rowena stopped the bullet in mid-air as her eyes glowed purple.

“H-h-how?” Sam stammered in disbelief.

“You really would have _shot_ me?” Rowena frowned. “Somnia.”

Sam immediately fell to the ground, unconscious.

~/~\~

Bernard, Dean, and Angela continued to fight while Jessica watched on.

“You guys are doing really well,” she complimented. “But you need to hurry.”

“A little help would be nice!” Angela grunted as Bernard kicked her backward.

“Can’t… Clean hands.” Jessica held up her hands.

Dean eventually got the upper hand and straddled Bernard, choking him until he was dead. Angela scrambled to get the kids.

“He was a highly trained military operative,” Jessica noted. “It’s impressive that you could—

“Sam!” Dean shouted as he raced off to find Sam.

Angela followed Dean quickly, holding Henry and Grace’s hand. They ran out into the alley and noticed Sam’s gun on the ground.

“Where’s Daddy?” Grace looked up at her mother.

“I don’t know,” Angela whispered as she adjusted Henry in her arms. “Sam!”

Jessica appeared behind them and Dean turned around, his eyes frantic.

“Where the hell is my brother?!”

~/~\~

Inside Rowena’s hotel room, Sam was away but immobilized in a chair.

“Don’t struggle,” Rowena warned. “It’ll only make things worse.”

“Rowena, you gotta listen to me,” Sam pleaded. “This power’s going to your head, okay? It’s making you go crazy.”

“No, it’s given me clarity,” she corrected. “It’s shown me that everything I did before for wealth, for magic, for myself, meant nothing. And it took everything from me, everyone I loved—my family, Oskar, my son. I’m a flawed, petty evil creature, Samuel, and I don’t know if I can be redeemed, but I have to try. And I do wish there was another way.”

“You… wh… what are you saying?”

“Well, you said it yourself. There’s only one way to stop me—you. But if you’re dead, well… then, I can’t be stopped, can I? Death will have to grant me an audience.” Rowena ripped open Sam’s shirt, revealing his anti-possession tattoo.

“Oh, no, you—you—you don’t know that!” Sam exclaimed.

“True, but there’s only one way to find out.” Rowena cut the palm of her hand.

“What are you doing? What is that?” Sam demanded as Rowena poured some sort of mystery liquid onto her palm.

“You don’t wanna know.”

“Rowena, don’t do this.” Sam practically begged. “You don’t have to do this.”

“What haven’t you done for your family?!” Rowena seethed. “What wouldn’t you do? I’m sorry, Sam.” She thrust her hand onto his tattoo and Sam yelled in pain.

“Hello, Rowena.” Billie appeared behind the witch.

Rowena turned around a frowned slightly. “You? I know you.”

“We met when I was a reaper.”

“We totally did!” Rowena recalled. “If we’d just exchanged numbers, none of this would have been necessary.”

“You’re upsetting the natural order,” Billie replied. “That’s… unwise.”

“Bring back my son, and it all stops. Say no, and I’ll—

“No.” Billie interrupted, shocking Rowena.

“Then I’ll kill Sam Winchester.” Rowena threatened. “That’ll really frog up your natural order, won’t it?”

“Go ahead.”

Sam struggled and grunted, trying to break free.

“What?” Rowena’s brows furrowed.

“I don’t think it’s a good thing,” Billie shrugged. “And I don’t believe any of us will like what comes next, but I don’t do blackmail, so… Go ahead.”

Rowena, knife in hand, turned to a frightened and struggling Sam.

“I’m curious to see what happens,” Billie added, almost nonchalantly.

“No. No, no, no, no, no. No. Rowena. I know what you went through and I know how much you lost and I realize how much you want your family back,” Sam sympathized. “But don’t do this. This… this… this is not you. Not anymore.”

“What happened to me, those were my choices. But Fergus never… It wasn’t fair,” she whispered before turning to face Billie. “It’s not fair!” she blasted Billie with a purple light and fell to her knees.

Unaffected by Rowena’s spell, Billie knelt down in front of the witch. “You were never going to kill him. There was a time you would’ve, but not now. I can see that.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing.” Rowena whimpered.

“Sometimes life is unfair, and sometimes we lose things. And sometimes we make mistakes. And some of these things can never be fixed, no matter how powerful you become. Some things just are, and everyone has to live with that.”

“And now you’ll take me?” Rowena choked out a sob.

“No, you already know how your story ends.” Billie glanced up at Sam.

At that moment, Dean and Angela crashed through the door, bloody and bruised. Angela held Henry and Grace immediately ran towards Sam.

“Daddy!”

“Sam,” Angela breathed out.

“Angie, Dean!” Sam exclaimed in relief.

“Hey, Dean,” Billie greeted. “See you again soon.”

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Rowena were all sitting on the floor, drinking. Grace had her head in Sam’s lap and Henry was nestled in Angela’s lap. Sam inspected Angela’s bloody and bruised face.

“You okay, baby?” he asked gently.

“I’ll be fine, Sam,” Angela assured. “I’ll take care of it when we get home.”

“Mommy always kisses my boo-boos to make it better,” Grace commented. “Daddy, you should give Mommy a kiss.”

“Yeah? That’s a good idea, Gracie,” Sam smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of Angela’s mouth. “Better?”

“All better.” Angela smiled at her husband.

“How’re you feelin’?” Sam looked at Dean.

“Like I got punched in the face. A lot.” Dean grumbled.

“Yes, about that… Bernard’s very enthusiastic.” Rowena noted.

“Yeah, that’s one word for it.” Dean scoffed as he sipped his beer.

“And what about you?” Sam turned to Rowena. “How are you feeling?”

“I fought Death and lost. I feel tired. Weaker. I don’t know if it’s forever. Sam, what have I done?”

“You had a chance to kill me and you didn’t. I’d call that progress.” Sam shrugged.

“I’d call that a miracle,” Dean added.

“You know, what happened with Crowley? That wasn’t your fault.” Angela assured.

“He never had a chance,” Rowena whispered.

“He made his choices, just like we all do,” Dean replied. “Look, every one of us has done something that we have to live with, that we’re trying to make up for. Every one of us.”

“Even without all that extra juice, you’re still the deadliest witch around.” Sam complimented.

“Flatterer,” Rowena replied bashfully.

“Yeah, well, we, um… we may need your help,” Sam replied. “To save our family. To… hell, save the world.”

“You want to be redeemed?” Angela asked. “This would be a pretty big step.”

“And do you think I still can be?”

“Yeah, I do.” Angela smiled softly.

“We all do,” Sam added. “But before you answer, you gotta know something. Um… Lucifer is back.”

“Mm. Of course he is.” Rowena muttered.

“Now you’re not gonna…”

“Break down? Crack apart in terror?” Rowena scoffed. “Of course I’m horrified and scared. My heart may have stopped but… Lucifer isn’t the one who’s gonna kill me, is he?” she looked up at Sam.

“You changed other people’s fates,” Sam shrugged. “Maybe we can change yours?”

“So, what do you say?” Dean asked. “You in?”


	39. Unfinished Business Part 1

_Central City, Colorado_

Sam and Angela were unpacking their bags while Dean talked on the phone with Castiel.

“Yeah. No, we just got in. We dropped the kids off at Jody’s. Mm-hmm.” Dean said before he looked at Sam and Angela. “What are you guys doing? Don’t unpack.”

“De, we could be here for days,” Angela argued.

“No. No. Hey, _hell_ , no.” Dean replied before turning his attention back to his phone. “Hey—No, not you. That’s… Just call us when you get to Amarillo, all right?” he instructed before hanging up. “All right, look, Rowena’s spell said that Gabriel would be here.”

“Yeah, here or in Texas.” Sam reminded.

“Yeah, she tracked his essence—which, _gross_ —to both places. So Cas is gonna hit up the Lone Star State in a few hours, and we will check this place out.”

“Okay. And that could take some time.” Angela sighed heavily.

“Which we don’t have, Angie,” Dean argued. “Look, I know you guys know that we’ve been following leads for the past two weeks. We have nothing to show for it. Meanwhile, Mom, Robert, Jack, they could be hurt. Or worse. And we’re stuck here in this stupid motel room… doing…”

Dean kicked the bed that Sam and Angela were sitting on, activating the magic fingers vibration. Sam and Angela jumped to their feet in surprise while Dean kicked the bed again and the vibrations stopped.

“Bonus,” Dean pointed at the bed.

“Dean, back to the point.” Angela reminded as Sam rolled his eyes at his brother.

“…looking for some runaway, dumbass archangel who doesn’t wanna be found,” Dean complained.

There was a knock at the door, alarming the three hunters. They armed themselves and Dean opened the door to find Gabriel, injured and bleeding pretty profusely.

“Hey, fellas. Sweetcheeks,” the archangel grunted. “Looking for me?”

~/~\~

Gabriel was on the couch while Angela was bandaging the wound on his side. Sam and Dean stood nearby, arms folded across their chests.

“All right, this is gonna hurt a little bit,” Angela warned as she bandaged up the large wound.

“A little?” Gabriel grunted in pain. “You need to work on your bedside manner.”

“How did you know we were here?” Dean cut in.

“Come on. I felt your witch’s tracking spell the second she laid it on me,” Gabriel replied. “Tasted like haggis.”

“So now you’re in trouble?” Sam questioned.

“What gave you that idea?” Gabriel retorted.

“You show up on our doorstep, bleeding like a stuck pig.” Dean gestured to Gabriel’s wound.

“This? Eh, you know, you… roll into town for a little R&R, stumble into the wrong poker game, take a guy’s money, his wife… things get messy.” Gabriel shrugged weakly.

“You’re trying to tell us you came _here_ for R&R?” Angela scoffed.

“Yeah, this isn’t exactly the Riviera,” Dean added.

“I know, right?” Gabriel chuckled, wincing in pain. “Huh. Yeah, so anyway, um… I don’t suppose you guys have any more of my grace laying around, right? ‘Cause, uh, the tank’s a little low.”

“Oh, did you drain it killing Asmodeus?” Sam raised his brows.

“And ditching you,” Gabriel added. “It’ll recharge. Eventually. But, uh, until then…” he looked at the hunters hopefully.

“Whatever we didn’t use on you, we used to open up a rift,” Dean answered.

“Cool. Superdupes.” Gabriel nodded. “Okay Well, uh, in that case, gentlemen, lady, I must bid you a fond adi—” Gabriel tried to stand and clutched his injured side as he cried out in searing pain. “Ohh! Yeah, nope. Maybe after a… little siesta.” He flopped over onto the sofa. “Whoa. Aw. Aw, crap.”

~/~\~

“Until his grace levels come back up,” Sam glanced at the sleeping archangel. “I-I just… I don’t get it.”

“Yeah, well, right now, don’t care,” Dean replied bluntly. “He’s here, and we’re gonna keep him here.”

Gabriel suddenly shot up and looked around the room frantically. “Where?! Where am I?” he gasped as his eyes fell on Sam, Dean, and Angela. “Oh, right. You.”

“Gabriel, look, we don’t really know what’s going on here—

“We need your help.” Dean interrupted Sam.

“Uh… yeah,” Gabriel replied awkwardly. “Not a big joiner.”

“Oh, so you got better things to do than save the world?” Dean questioned, clearly annoyed and pissed off at the archangel.

“Exactly,” Gabriel inhaled sharply and struggled to stand. “Look, this has been… great, a real thrill. But, uh, I just came here for the silver stuff. And since you three are fresh out, it’s time for me to say sayonara.”

As Gabriel gathered his things and made for the door, it slammed open revealing Sleipnir and Narfi.

“Raspberries,” Gabriel muttered.

“We’re here for the angel,” Narfi demanded as his face glowed with an overlaid skull, and Sleipnir’s glowed with a horse’s head.

Dean reeled back in surprise. “The hell are you guys?” he asked before turning to Gabriel. “The hell are these guys?”

“Oh, just a couple of Norse demigods,” Gabriel replied nonchalantly.

“Demigods?!” Sam and Angela exclaimed.

Narfi attacked Sam and punched him in the face while Sleipnir attacked Dean and Angela with a whip. Angela grunted in pain after Sleipnir threw her into the nearest wall.

“Gabriel, a little help here!” Angela called out to the archangel hiding in the closet.

Gabriel just cowered, shaking his head as Narfi choked Sam, whose face was turning red.

“Sammy! Angie!” Dean grunted.

Dean finally took Sleipnir down and helped Angela up. They went to Sam’s aid, but Gabriel beat them to it, stabbing Narfi in the back with a wooden sword. Sleipnir watched as Narfi died, and Gabriel turned to face him.

“Hiya, handsome. You ready to die?”

Sleipnir’s eyes widened and he sprinted out of the room fearfully. Gabriel hunched over in pain, clearly having strained his injury.

“Ooh.” He groaned.

“You okay?” Dean asked.

“Uh, yeah. I’ll go after him in a sec. I just… need a minute.”

“Wrong,” Dean replied as he held up the angel handcuffs. “You’re not goin’ anywhere.”

~/~\~

Gabriel was handcuffed to the room divider and Sam, Dean, and Angela returned from disposing of Narfi’s body. The hunters took off their jackets and Sam took Angela’s, setting it on the bed next to his.

“You know… you guys are lucky I’m low on juice, considering what I did to the last guy who locked me up.” Gabriel narrowed his eyes at the Winchesters.

“You know what? We said we’d let you go, just as soon as you tell us what the hell is going on here.” Sam retorted as he pulled up a chair for Angela and sat on the corner of their bed.

“Yeah, it, uh… it’s not a fun story.” Gabriel shrugged it off.

“Well, we just broke into a junkyard and stuffed the body of a demigod into a car crusher,” Dean replied as he too pulled up a chair. “So I think you owe us some answers.”

“Okay,” Gabriel sighed in annoyance. “They’re not really demigods.”

“Mm.”

“Look, the Norse pantheon is its own weird thing. Think of ‘em more like, uh, god-begotten monsters.”

“Whatever.” Dean rolled his eyes, bored with Gabriel’s explanation. “What did they want with you?”

“I killed their brother,” Gabriel admitted.

Sam’s brows furrowed slightly. “Why?”

“Remember when I told you what happened after I faked my death at the Elysian Motel?”

“Yeah, of course.” Angela nodded. “You went to, uh, Monte Carlo with a bunch of porn stars.”

A dreamy look crossed Dean’s face and he nodded at the image. “Uh-huh.”

“Yeah…” Gabriel trailed off. “Well, I left a few parts out. After Lucifer, quotation marks, killed me, I needed to lay low. Luckily, I used to hang with a pretty resourceful crew. Found me a real top-shelf hideaway.”

As Gabriel told the story of playing a rigorous game of poker with demigods, an annoyed look crossed Dean’s face.

“I thought this story had porn stars,” the elder Winchester complained.

“Ah! Good catch. My bad.” Gabriel replied, continuing with his story. “I had it made—all the booze I could drink, all the, uh, _entertainment_ I could handle.”

“Okay!” Angela interrupted quickly. “Why don’t we just skip to the end, okay?”

Gabriel sighed dramatically. “So, this is how it ended. By the time I woke up and came to, they had sold me to Asmodeus.”

“Why would they do that?” Sam frowned deeply.

“Hello? Lucifer?” Gabriel reminded. “In case you don’t remember, there was an apocalypse brewing at the time.”

“We remember.” Sam huffed.

“Well, Vegas odds had my bro pulling off a big win.”

“Yeah? And whose fault was that?” Dean raised his brows accusingly.

“Mm. Fernir, Sleipnir, and Narfi were just trying to cover their keisters. They needed to get rid of me before Lucifer figured out where they had me hidden. But selling me to that Kentucky Fried B-hole? For them? That was all profit.” Gabriel explained, becoming increasingly angry.

“So you want revenge,” Dean replied.

“Well, obviously. Roasting Asmodeus was, uh, satisfying for a hot minute. But you know one thing better than killing him? Slaughtering them all.”

“But since you’re low on grace, you had to do it the old-fashioned way—with wood.” Angela realized.

“Sweetcheeks,” Gabriel smirked. “Don’t let anybody ever tell you you’re just a pretty face.”

“All right, anyway,” Sam interjected. “If there are only, uh, three gods or monsters or whatever, how come there are four swords?”

“Oh. That top one? That is for the man with the plan, the architect of my torture, and my own personal public enemy numero uno. Their papa… _Loki._ ”

~/~\~

“Hold on,” Dean started as he sipped from his flask. “I thought Loki was you.”

“It’s trippy, I know. Look, remember when I told you I went into witness protection? Well, who do you think put me here?”

“Loki?” Sam asked, earning a nod from Gabriel. “You and Loki are friends?”

“Oh, well… We were.” Gabriel corrected. “A few thousand epochs ago, I was out for a hike in the fjords. Came across Loki bound in a cave, snake dripping venom into his eye. Ugh,” he cringed at the memory. “Apparently, he had some spat with his pops. Anyhoo, I freed him. Saved his life. Then my real brothers started going at it. I wanted out. Loki owed me one, so… he helped me ditch Gabriel and become him.”

“So then you took on his whole… trickster vibe.”

“What did Loki do while you were impersonating him?” Angela questioned.

“Oh. Well, he had his own family drama to worry about. It was in his best interest to go off the grid for a while.”

“But you saw him in Monte Carlo,” Dean replied.

“Well, I needed someplace to hide. He’d already helped me the once.”

“You know, none of this would’ve happened if you’d had just… stuck around and helped us fight Lucifer.” Dean scoffed.

“Hey, I did help you. ‘Casa Erotica’?” Gabriel reminded.

“Ugh, can’t forget seeing that,” Angela muttered.

“You call that help?” Sam rolled his eyes at Gabriel.

“I call that art,” the archangel retorted. “But yes, without me, you three chuckleheads never would’ve known how to throw Lucifer back in the Cage.”

“But instead of giving us a hand, you ran. And you just did it again when you ditched us in the bunker.

Sam sighed heavily. “All right, Dean—

“I have more important things to do than to join your little band of merry men.” Gabriel interrupted.

“Hey, what you’re doing? This? This is not important.” Dean argued.

“Every day, Asmodeus tortured me. Every… day!” Gabriel shouted. “He fed off my grace for years! He used me, he debased me until I was… What I went through… you don’t forgive. Everyone who had a hand in it will die. Get me?”

“Yeah. We do.” Sam nodded and Angela took his hand in hers.

“Okay, you went through it. We get it.” Dean empathized. “All right? But killing Loki? Not gonna change any of that. It’s not. In fact, probably not even gonna make you feel better.”

“Well, agree to disagree, Dean-o.” Gabriel sneered. “We all have our demons. Mine are here, in this town.”

“Okay,” Sam nodded. “But… you’re low on grace. And Loki knows you’re coming.”

“Sam.” Dean cleared his throat.

~/~\~

Dean led Sam and Angela out into the hallway to talk to them privately.

“What?” Sam asked.

“Not like I care about killing gods, okay? But this whole revenge kick?” Dean replied. “It’s a waste of time.”

“What if it’s not?” Sam retorted.

“You’ve seen it, Sam—with me, Angie, with Dad.” Dean reminded. “Revenge only ends one way— _ugly._ ”

“Well, maybe it doesn’t have to.”

Dean pursed his lips and shook his head. “Okay, I think I know what this is.”

“Okay, what is this?”

“You. You’re—you’re so hopped up on this ‘Kill Bill’ fantasy of his.”

“No, no, no.” Sam denied. “This has nothing to do with me.”

“If you had a shot at Lucifer, you wouldn’t take it?” Dean quirked a brow.

“Of course I would,” Sam admitted and Angela wrapped an arm around his waist. “But this is about Gabriel. He needs our help.”

Dean rolled his eyes, clearly not happy with the plan. But he decided to concede and agreed to hear Sam’s plan.

~/~\~

“Gabriel,” Sam started. “You agree to help us, we’ll agree to help you.”

“Hmm,” the archangel hummed, nodding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Gabriel so much~


	40. Unfinished Business Part 2

Sam and Angela were loading their guns while Gabriel changed clothes and Dean packed up their weapons bag.

“All right, Uma, what’s the plan?” Dean asked.

“Well, Sleipnir’s a lot of things, but mainly, he is a coward,” Gabriel answered. “I will bet all the personal lubricant in the S.F.V… that after we killed Narfi, he ran straight back to papa’s skirts.”

“So he and Loki will be together. That’s great.” Sam replied. “How do we find them?”

Gabriel shifted on his feet slightly. “Uh, they’re about a… five-minute drive from here. Penthouse of the Ophidian Hotel.”

“Seriously?” Sam’s brows furrowed.

“You’ve known this the whole time?” Dean asked in irritation.

“Sure,” Gabriel shrugged. “That’s what Loki does. He rolls into a dump town, finds the seediest motel, then uses some mojo to give it his patented Cinderella treatment. Loki has his fun, then he moves on. I’ve been tracking him since Amarillo.”

“And you didn’t go after him. Why?” Dean demanded.

“’Cause that’s… ah… For the most satisfying retributive experience, everyone knows you don’t take on the Big Bad from the jump. You work up to him, like so.” Gabriel handed Dean his kill list.

Dean looked at the list blankly, noting that Fernir and Narfi’s names were crossed out. “What am I lookin’ at?”

“You—you’ve never seen a kill list before?” Gabriel scoffed. “Wow. Hmm. Okay. There’s Fernir, Narfi, Sleipnir, and then last but not least, Loki. I’m killing all of his sons in order. And then, when he’s got nothing left, I take him out.”

“This is so stupid.” Dean snorted lightly and shook his head.

“Really? It is? ‘Cause let me tell you something,” Gabriel glared at the eldest Winchester. “Seven years is a long-ass time for me to plan my own personal brand of vengeance. So if you guys aren’t gonna get on board…”

“No, no, no,” Angela stood up and placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “We’re on board. Right, Dean?”

Dean rolled his eyes and responded with a shrug and a grunt.

“I’m sorry. What was that?” Gabriel asked.

“Sure.” Dean huffed.

“Peachy. So here’s what we’re gonna do. We go in, we kill Sleipnir, and then, we surprise Big Daddy in the penthouse. Easy peasy like a breeze-y.”

~/~\~

Gabriel, flanked by Sam, Dean, and Angela followed Sleipnir and his bodyguards as the elevator doors closed. They went into the next elevator, following them.

“One last thing,” Gabriel started. “Just so we’re clear. Take out the bodyguards, take out the bystanders, whatever. But when it comes to Sleipnir and Loki, I’m the one who delivers the coup de grace. I want my beautiful face to be the last thing that they see.”

“Okay, no,” Dean cut in, his irritation evident. “You know what? No more plans, no more rules. You want Loki dead on the ground? That’s what you’re gonna get.”

The elevator doors opened, and Sleipnir and his guards stood at the opposite end of the hall.

“Get him!” Sleipnir commanded,

His guards rushed into action, but Gabriel snapped his fingers, and the lights cut out. A gunfight erupted among the guards and hunters, while Gabriel took out Sleipnir’s sword. The archangel snapped his fingers again and the lights came back on. Sleipnir was on the ground, facing the end of Gabriel’s sword, fear in his eyes.

“Please,” Sleipnir begged.

Gabriel stabbed Sleipnir in the chest, while Sam and Angela noticed that Dean was nowhere to be found.

“Dean?” Angela frowned.

“Dean!” Sam bellowed in worry. “He left.”

“Ah. Big bros, right?” Gabriel shrugged. “Always think they know best.”

“The penthouse.” Sam realized. “He went after Loki!”

“No.” Gabriel shook his head. “No, Loki’s mine!”

~/~\~

Dean walked towards the penthouse doors, armed with the wooden sword. He pushed open the door to find Loki in a lavish suit and holding a lollipop.

“Loki?” Dean asked.

“So you are Dean Winchester,” Loki replied as he returned the sweet treat to a lollipop humidor.

“And you’re the annoying god that we’re wasting our time tryin’ to kill.” Dean deadpanned.

“Mm. And did Gabriel tell you why he wants me dead?”

“I don’t care,” Dean replied flatly.

“Yes, you do. Little bit.” Loki smirked. “Our treatment of your friend is payback for a slight of a more personal nature. The death of my father, Odin.”

“Oh, that wasn’t him. Lucifer did that.” Dean corrected.

“Ah. But why was my father there in the first place?” Loki questioned. “To parlay, to deal with Gabriel’s brothers. When we first made terms, I had only one condition—I would give him my face, teach him to be me, the trickster, if he agreed to abandon the more… volatile affairs of his family,” he explained as he took off his suit jacket. “Forever. When he hit that hotel, he broke that promise, and it cost my father his life.”

“The world was coming to an end.” Dean reminded.

“That never mattered to him before. Gabriel needed to be punished.” Loki sneered. “Odin was a salty, disagreeable bastard. Truth is… he despised me. But he was my father. I’m sure you understand. What would you do for your father?”

Dean stabbed Loki with the sword and frowned when Loki’s body just flickered like a hologram. Loki knocked Dean across the room, and the hunter attempted to stab Loki again. Loki just punched Dean in the stomach.

“Oh, so you can hit me, but I can’t hit you?” Dean grunted.

“Mess with the real trickster…” Loki punched Dean. “Get the real tricks.”

Dean was knocked to the ground as Sam and Angela ran in, their guns at the ready.

“No, no, no! It’s Loki magic.” Dean told Sam as the younger Winchester fired his gun. “He’s a hologram.”

“All right, if we can’t kill him, we gotta kill the real Loki.” Sam helped Dean to his feet.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela ran and stood in the doorway as Gabriel and Loki fought. Dean slid Loki’s sword to Gabriel and the archangel finally got Loki pinned to the wall with the tip of the blade.

“Of course,” Loki sneered, almost in disgust. “Of course you would need someone to swoop in and save your pitiful ass.”

“Shut up!” Gabriel snapped.

“Face it, old friend, you’re a joke. You’re a failure.” Loki taunted. “You live for pleasure. You stand for nothing. And in the end, that’s exactly what you’ll die for.”

“You first,” Gabriel replied as he stabbed him in the stomach, effectively killing Loki.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, Angela, and Gabriel stood outside of the Ophidian hotel.

“Listen…” Gabriel started. “I know you three weren’t the, uh, eagerest of beavers when it came to helping me out back there, so, uh… I-I just wanna say… thanks,” he told the hunters sincerely. “So… this other world Michael… how we doing this?”

Sam’s brows shot up in surprise. “Wait, you’re… actually gonna help us?”

“Yeah, no tricks?” Dean asked.

“A deal is a deal. And if I’m being perfectly honest, tricks are for kids.” Gabriel smirked lightly.

Angela smiled and threw her arms around Gabriel’s neck, pulling him into a hug. “Thank you. Seriously.”

“You got it, sweet cheeks,” Gabriel smiled softly before Angela pulled away and Sam draped an arm over her shoulders.

“Hey… How you feeling?” Sam asked Gabriel. “Now that… you…”

“Got my sweet, sweet vengeance on?”

“Yeah, sure.” Sam chuckled. “I guess.”

“Swell, Sam. I’m a whole new guy.” Gabriel assured.

“That’s what I thought.” Sam nodded.

~/~\~

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Dean sat in the war room of the bunker drinking a glass of whiskey when Sam and Angela came in with Henry.

“All right, so Cas is helping Gabriel settle in, which Grace _insisted_ that she help with,” Sam started. “Rowena’s boning up on the demon tablet. So… once Gabe’s grace levels are back up, we—we should be good to go.”

“Great.” Dean nodded as he sipped his drink.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Sam nodded.

“Mmm.”

“Hey… back at the hotel… why did you go after Loki without us?” Angela asked softly.

“Saw an opening, so I took it.” Dean shrugged it off.

“So you left us?” Sam questioned.

“You guys were handling those goons just fine. I just figured I’d… multitask.”

“That’s not… Dean, this has become a whole thing with you lately.” Sam sighed heavily.

“A whole thing?” Dean raised his brows in offense.

“Yeah.”

“Since when?” Dean scoffed.

“Since the last time we opened up a rift. Since you decided to sideline me and Angie, then head to apocalypse world with Ketch.” Sam argued.

“Okay, well… we talked about that,” Dean replied.

“Did we?” Sam retorted. “Because I gotta be honest, after everything, you’re treating us like w-we deserve to be back at the kid’s table or something.”

“I’m not gonna apologize for protecting you guys,” Dean replied.

“So that’s what you think you’re doing here?” Sam scoffed.

“You remember what happened the last time we had front row tickets to the archangel show?” Dean asked. “’Cause I do. Sam, you died… and went to Hell. But see, this time, the apocalypse isn’t looking for us. We’re actually looking for it. I don’t care what happens to me. I never really have. But I do care about what happens to my brother and his girl.”

“Dean, we’re going to that place, and we’re going to save Jack, Mom, and Robert. Together.” Sam replied firmly. “And if something happens, we will deal with it together.”

“You may not care about what happens to you,” Angela whispered. “But we do. Your niece and nephew do. _We’ll_ get through this, like Sammy said, together.”


	41. Beat the Devil Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a chapter before I disappear for finals week~  
> I have big things coming up in the next chapter so stay tuned ;)

_Lebanon, Kansas_

Sam woke up abruptly and took a deep breath as the alarm sounded loudly. He frowned as he recalled his dream about having Mary, Robert, and Jack back with them. Sam reached over and turned off the alarm and turned his head to look at Angela, who was waking up slowly.

“Baby?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep. “Sam, are you okay?”

Sam rubbed his hands down his face and nodded unconvincingly. “Yeah. Just a dream, Angie.”

~/~\~

Rowena stood at the table and organized the ingredients for the spell to open up the rift while Sam and Dean were packing their gear. Meanwhile, Angela put Henry down on his play-mat so Grace could play with him.

“Fruit from the tree of life,” Rowena started. “Blood of a most holy man.”

“Dean,” Sam called out and tossed his brother a package of glow sticks.

“And, ah…” Rowena reached up and plucked some of Dean’s hair out.

“Ow!” Dean complained.

“Something from the other side,” she tossed his hair into the bowl as Castiel walked in.

“Hey, hon,” Angela greeted the angel. “How’s Gabriel?”

“He said he needed a minute alone. He wanted to extract his grace by himself.” Castiel answered. “In private,” he added using air quotes, earning a disturbed expression from Sam. “So, I left him alone in Dean’s room.”

“You what?” Dean looked up in alarm. “No!”

Sam smirked a little and Angela giggled at Dean’s reaction. Castiel just tilted his head, looking puzzled.

“I hate to interrupt,” Rowena cut in. “But I can’t be the only one to notice the rather glaring hole in this plan. We open up the rift, it gives us a day to find and save Robert, Mary, and the boy. And it’s a very big world over there, and you’re not even sure where they are, so…”

“She’s right,” Castiel admitted. “The clock may run out on us.”

“Yeah. It might.” Sam agreed as he tucked his gun into the back of his waistband.

“Yeah, well we don’t have any better ideas,” Dean muttered.

“Mm, that’s inspirational.” Rowena scoffed.

Gabriel walked into the room and held up a vial of his grace. “Here it is! The final ingredient—a fresh serving of archangel grace.”

He set the vial on the table with flourish and everyone frowned at the small amount of grace. Rowena picked it up and grimaced.

“This is what you call a serving?” she asked in disbelief.

“That is the jet fuel of divine emissions” Gabriel smirked proudly. “It’ll be more than enough to get the job done.”

Rowena and Castiel exchanged skeptical glances. Rowena began to prepare the spell as the group got ready.

“All right, Mommy and I will be back,” Sam told his daughter. “Be good for Rowena, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.” Grace nodded.

“We love you, sweet girl.” Angela smiled softly.

“I love you, too.” Grace beamed.

“Koth munto nuntox!” Rowena chanted and the rift began to form.

“Okay, everyone ready?” Castiel asked.

“Yeah, all right.” Sam nodded as he held Angela’s hand.

“Let’s do this.”

They moved to step through the rift when it began fritzing. Slowly the rift drooped down and it crackled out of existence. The two angels and the Winchesters watched on, puzzled.

“Okay.” Angela deadpanned.

“Well, that was… _fast_ ,” Castiel noted.

“Very, very fast.” Sam agreed.

Rowena looked at Gabriel sourly. “One could even say premature.”

“Um…” Gabriel cleared his throat, clearly flustered. “I thought it would be enough.”

“All right, great. What do we do now?” Sam questioned.

“Hell if I know.” Dean scoffed.

“You do know. We all do.” Castiel replied grimly and Rowena shot a frightened glance at Sam. “We need archangel grace. Gabriel’s obviously running a little low, and we don’t know how long it’ll take him to recover. So that leaves exactly one source on Earth”

A look of horror crept onto Sam’s face and he gripped Angela’s hand tighter. “No.”

“I don’t like it either, but there is no other way. We need Lucifer.”

Angela rubbed a comforting hand on Sam’s chest, and he was clearly shaken. Rowena bit her lip and looked down in fear.

~/~\~

In the kitchen, Dean was leaning against the counter while Castiel leaned against the smaller table. Sam was sitting against the wall and Angela sat in between his legs with Henry on her lap and Grace next to her.

“Obviously, I want to get Mom, Robert, and Jack back,” Sam started. “It’s all I want. It’s all I can think about. But we’ve been down this road before. Teaming up with Lucifer—

“We’re not _teaming up_ with him,” Dean argued.

“We just need his grace,” Castiel added.

“Oh, ‘just.’” Sam scoffed.

“We’ve trapped his ass before.” Dean reminded.

“Yes, and every time, it ends up the same way, with the Devil being on the loose again!” Sam argued angrily.

“Look, Sam, I was used by Lucifer, too,” Castiel replied. “It was the worst possible violation. So I-I’m not taking your reluctance lightly, but he is already out there, and we’ve been ignoring it and avoiding dealing with him because we’re afraid.”

“And it’s _okay_ to be afraid, baby.” Angela reminded her husband softly. “It doesn’t make you weak, it doesn’t make you less of a hunter, I promise.”

“We let Lucifer out of the Cage,” Castiel added. “And he has never stopped being our responsibility.”

Sam looked down and bit his lip nervously.

“So?” Dean asked.

“It’s your call, baby,” Angela whispered.

Sam shook his head and sighed. “No, y-you guys are right. I don’t like it, but it’s our only choice. Another fun, _great_ choice.”

“Well, hey, bright side is, even if we do pull it off, we still only get 24 hours in the apocalypse world. And Rowena’s right. We’ll be lucky to even hear a word of Mom, Robert, and Jack, much less save ‘em, so…” Dean gave a sarcastic thumbs up.

Sam’s brows furrowed slightly. “Wait a second.”

“What?” Castiel asked curiously.

~/~\~

Dean, Sam, Angela, and Castiel walked into the library. Angela held Grace’s hand while Sam carried Henry in one arm. They looked around the empty room, not seeing Gabriel or Rowena.

“Guys?” Dean called out.

“Whoo! Oh, ah!” Rowena exclaimed as she stumbled out from behind the bookshelf.

Angela took note of Rowena’s disheveled hair and askew clothes and immediately covered Grace’s eyes while Sam covered Henry’s. Gabriel popped his head above the same shelf, messy hair and all. He moved to lean on the pillar, using a book to cover his groin.

“Uh… we were just…” Rowena stammered.

“Reading,” Gabriel replied. “Books. Here, in the, uh, library.”

Angela narrowed her eyes and scoffed as she covered Grace’s ears. “Nice try. Sam and I have been caught in the library more than once. We know what you were doing.”

“Baby!” Sam’s face flushed red.

“Did you arrive at a…” Rowena shifted uncomfortably. “Decision?”

Dean tossed a thumb over his shoulder at his brother. “Sam has a plan.”

~/~\~

Rowena was preparing the spell again as Lucifer woke up in the library. He was on his knees and his hands were tied behind his back by magical cords.

“He’s awake,” Rowena noted.

Dean looked up from his spot at the table and Lucifer raised his head. Sam leaned against a nearby pillar, stone-faced, and Angela stood next to him.

“Oh, hey, Sam.” Lucifer greeted.

Angela immediately stepped in front of Sam protectively and glared at Lucifer.

“Look at Angie, here to protect her damsel in distress.” Lucifer teased as he looked around the room. “Oh, look at this. All the people I love to torture in the same room. What’s the occasion, guys?”

Rowena walked over cautiously and put the bowl on the floor in front of Lucifer.

“Ah. Okay.” Lucifer nodded. “I think I see what’s going on. You’re planning a trip to save Mom and Pops, and you need my grace. Is that about it?”

Castiel walked over and grabbed Lucifer’s hair, pulling his head back. “Good guess.”

Castiel made a small incision in Lucifer’s throat and his grace flowed into the bowl. Lucifer looked up at Gabriel.

“Okay, you could’ve done this back at the bar. Could’ve drained me, killed me. What’s this really about? Humiliation? Revenge?”

“Nah, those are just bonuses,” Sam replied. “See, we got a lot of work to do back in apocalypse world, but not a whole lot of time to do it. So, I realized something. I realized we could use you.”

Sam nodded to Rowena and she crouched down next to Lucifer.

“Koth munto nuntox!” she chanted, opening up the rift.

“Use you not to just crack the door open, but to keep it open.” Sam continued. “So we’re gonna drain you. We’re gonna keep on draining you.”

“Like a stuck pig,” Dean added as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

“Grace on tap,” Gabriel smirked. “Sorry, bro.”

“And then, when we get back, then we’ll kill you,” Sam promised.

“Cool.” Lucifer pursed his lips.

“You gonna be okay here?” Sam asked Rowena gently.

“Aye,” she nodded. “Someone needs to keep an eye on the Devil. Go. Save your family.”

“The kids are asleep,” Angela told the witch. “And there’s food for them in the fridge.”

“You ready?” Gabriel asked Sam.

Sam took a determined breath and nodded. “Ready.”

He walked through the rift with Angela, who were followed by Castiel, Gabriel, and then Dean.


	42. Beat the Devil Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals week has finally winded down~   
> I've been waiting to post this chapter and I hope you guys like it!!

_Apocalypse World_

The rift opened up and Sam, Angela, Castiel, and Gabriel tumbled out of it and rolled down the hill. Sam caught Angela as she tumbled, and she looked up at him in thanks.

“Ow!” Gabriel exclaimed.

Dean came through the rift gracefully and Sam pulled Angela up. The three hunters frowned when they saw Gabriel’s face firmly planted in Castiel’s crotch. Gabriel looked up at Castiel and his eyes widened as he scrambled to his feet.

“Oh, boy. Yeah. Well, that was… fun. I could’ve used a heads up about this landing sight.”

“Yeah. Thought we’d get spit out in the same spot, but this isn’t it.” Dean replied. “All right, well Charlie—the _other_ Charlie—said that Mary, Robert, and Jack have an outpost in Dayton.”

“Okay.” Sam nodded. “Let’s get our bearings and head that way. Cas, where are we?”

Castiel closed his eyes and paused for a moment. “Uh, Kentucky. Northeast Kentucky. Or what used to be Kentucky.”

“Which means that’s north.” Dean pointed. “Okay, so Dayton’s that way. Roughly. Two days by foot, but… that way.”

“All right.” Sam nodded as he took Angela’s hand in his.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela were walking quite a bit behind Castiel and Gabriel. Dean looked Sam over and a hint of a smile crossed his lips.

“You seem different since we got here,” the eldest Winchester commented.

“Really?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, like you’re lighter, happier, more energetic.”

“It’s a good look on you, baby.” Angela nudged Sam with her shoulder.

“I don’t know,” Sam wrapped an arm around Angela’s waist. “Maybe it’s just, you know, Mom, Robert, and Jack, and… You know, I mean, we’ve been working at it so hard for this for so long, and now we’re finally here. We’re close. Can’t you feel it?”

Sam laughed lightheartedly, clearly happier than he had been as of late. Dean seemed pleased to see Sam smile, but the moment was crushed when they all heard a woman’s scream echo through the forest. Sam, Dean, and Angela stopped to listen before running towards the noise, passing Gabriel and Castiel along the way.

“Not our world. Not our problem,” Gabriel warned them as they passed. “Right?”

~/~\~

A bearded man was struggling to fight off a strange-looking vampire that was trying to bite him.

“Maggie, run!” he yelled to the young woman with him.

With a scream, Maggie jumped on the back of the monster and pulled it off the man. The monster flipped Maggie off his back and to the ground. Dean charged in and pointed a shotgun at the monster, but Sam came in and beheaded it with his machete. The monster dropped to the ground and Angela extended a hand to help Maggie up.

“What the hell was that thing?” Angela asked.

“What do you mean?” Maggie asked confusedly. “A vampire.”

“It’s not like any vamp we’ve ever seen,” Sam replied as he stared at the bald, pointy-eared monster.

“Who are you?” Maggie questioned as her bearded friend climbed to his feet.

“I’m Sam. Uh, Dean, Angela, Gabriel, and Cas,” he introduced. “We, uh—

“We’re not from around here.” Dean interrupted. “Tell me, what makes a bloodsucker look like that?”

“Starvation,” the bearded man answered. “When Michael’s armies started to wipe out the humans, they didn’t think about monsters or what happened to ‘em when their food source dried up. Turns out, not eating makes them wild. Nothing but pure, stupid appetite.”

“Which way you headed?” Maggie asked.

“North,” Dean answered.

“To Dayton? We were going that way too.” Maggie replied. “We heard the rebels, Jack, Robert, and Mary, set up a satellite colony there, an outpost.”

“Wait,” Angela frowned. “What do you mean you were?”

“Me, Floyd, the rest of our group, we were crossing north through the Morehead tunnel… stumbled into a whole nest of those things.”

“Nine of us went in,” Floyd added. “Only me and Maggie came out.”

“This tunnel, is it the only way north?” Dean questioned.

“There’s a mountain pass, but it’s a long way around. Tunnel’s the quickest route.”

“If the long way is the safe way…” Gabriel started.

“No,” Angela shook her head. “We’re already two days out from Dayton as it is. We don’t have time for a detour.”

“Listen,” Sam looked at the young hunters. “We’ve faced worse than a nest of vamps before. Much worse. So if you still want to get to Dayton, we’ll keep you safe. As far as we’re concerned, we’re getting through that tunnel.”

~/~\~

“All right,” Sam started. “Here’s the plan. Stay close, keep walking. Anything moves, kill it.”

“Let’s do this!” Dean instructed.

“Hey,” Angela grabbed Sam’s hand and leaned up to kiss him. “I love you.”

Sam smiled softly at his wife. “I love you, too.”

The group pulled out their glowsticks and put them around their necks. Sam peeled back the corrugated metal covering the tunnel entrance. Dean took point, shotgun up as the rest of the group followed. Sam entered last, guarding the rear. As they navigated through the tunnel, Floyd tripped and fell.

“Argh!” he grunted, causing Maggie to scream. “Sorry, tripped.”

Floyd startled as he started to get up and found the shredded backpack and bloody shoe of one of his former group members. The group continued through the tunnel until they heard a snarling and chewing sound. Maggie looked horrified as they noticed a vampire earing the remains of the dead team member.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Sam pushed through to the front. “Let me.”

Sam approached the vampire and easily beheaded the monster. As they continued walking through the tunnel, another vampire jumped out and grabbed Maggie.

“Maggie!” Floyd yelled. “Maggie!”

Dean struggled and pulled the vampire away from Maggie, and the monster ran off down a side tunnel.

“You all right?” Dean asked Maggie in concern.

“Mm-hmm,” she nodded with wide eyes.

“Let’s keep moving,” Dean instructed.

The group continued walking through the dark tunnel and eventually came upon an open area. Water dripped from the ceiling and there were multiple side tunnels.

“Hey,” Dean started. “We got a blocked passage over here. Need to move some rocks.”

Castiel and Gabriel tucked their angel blades away and went to move the stones. Sam heard some rustling from one of the side tunnels and went to investigate. Maggie also heard rustling and noticed a flash of movement.

“Guys!” Maggie called out as Sam, Floyd, and Angela continued to check the side tunnels.

“Dean?” Sam called out.

Dean was on the other side, watching the angels while they moved the rocks. He turned to look towards Sam’s voice just as a vampire grabbed Floyd from behind.

“Floyd!” Maggie cried out.

Maggie rushed to help Floyd while several vampires began attacking Sam and Angela. Sam pushed one vampire away from him and kicked the other one away. Angela struggled against the vampires and kicked them away.

“I’ve got it,” Sam said. “I’ve got it.”

Floyd screamed and another vampire jumped on Maggie and pulled her away from Floyd, who was being dragged off into a side tunnel. One of the vampires pinned Sam to the tunnel wall and Dean moved in to join the fight.

Dean put his shotgun around one of the vampire’s neck and pulled it off Maggie. The vampire slid away and then charged at Dean and drove him against the wall.

“Angie!” Sam yelled as he noticed that she was attacked again as he struggled to fight off the vampires.

Angela moved to swing her machete when another vampire grabbed her arm and twisted the blade out of her hand. A second vampire grabbed her other side, knocking Angela to her knees. Sam and Dean struggled against the vampires attacking them so they could try and get to Angela.

“Angie!” Dean yelled out.

As the brothers watched. Angela tried to fight off the vampires but to no avail. One vampire yanked Angela’s head back by her hair and the other one leaned over to bite her neck, pulling out a large chunk of flesh.

“Sam!” Angela cried out in pain.

Sam was still pinned against the wall and thrashed against his attacker desperately. “Angie!”

Blood gushed from Angela’s neck and her eyes immediately glassed over.

“S-Sam!” she gasped with her last breath.

Sam pushed his attacker away and moved to run towards Angela, but the vampire jumped onto his back. Dean finally managed to get the upper hand and threw the vampire off of him. Dean attacked the vampire on Sam’s back and beheaded it as two vampires dragged Angela’s body down the dark side tunnel, and the last vampire followed them quickly. Maggie stood in place, stunned when Castiel rushed to her side. Castiel rushed down the tunnel that Angela had been dragged down.

“Angela!” Castiel yelled.

Another vampire appeared and Maggie screamed. Dean aimed his shotgun and blew its head off as Sam sprinted towards the side tunnel.

“Angie!” he cried out.

“Sam!” Dean followed his brother.

Castiel walked out of the darkness and intercepted Sam and Dean at the mouth of the tunnel. Sam’s eyes were wide and wild as he looked around hopefully for Angela. Dean looked at Castiel and the angel just shook his head.

“Sam. Sam,” Castiel tried to get the younger Winchester’s attention.

“What?!” Sam snapped, peering over Castiel’s shoulder.

“She’s gone,” Castiel shook his head sadly.

Sam stared in shock and shook his head, unable to accept what Castiel was telling him. “No! Angie!”

Sam tried to push past the angel, but Castiel grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. Sam fought him, desperate to get to his wife, but Castiel gripped his jacket tightly.

“We don’t have time!” Castiel told Sam forcefully.

Sam just stared at Castiel, breathing shakily with tears in his eyes. Sam turned to his brother, a pleading look on his face.

“Dean, we… we _have_ to save her.” Sam’s voice cracked.

“We can’t,” Castiel whispered.

Sam squeezed his eyes shut and tears slipped down his cheek as the information sunk in. Angela was _dead_.

“Dean.” Sam let out a sob. “W-we can’t leave her here. She… we _can’t_.”

“I know, Sammy,” Dean replied softly, trying to stay strong for his brother. “We’ll come back for her; I promise.”

~/~\~

The survivors of the group were walking, but Sam and Dean were slightly ahead. Sam was feeling every emotion at once, grief, numbness, anger, guilt. He closed his eyes tightly as memories flashed in his head of Angela’s last moments.

“Sammy,” Dean finally broke him out of his trance. “We’ll get her back.”

“How am I supposed to explain to Robert that she’s dead?” Sam asked quietly, ignoring Dean’s statement. “They’ve been separated for so long and now I have to tell him that she’s _dead,_ Dean. And Gracie…” his voice cracked. “I have to tell Gracie that her mom is dead.”

Dean was about to say something when Maggie approached the brothers.

“Sam?” she asked gently. “Um, about your friend… I’m so sorr—

“She’s my wife,” Sam interrupted quickly and clenched his jaw.

Maggie stuttered to a stop, almost afraid of the look on Sam’s face.

“Henry’s not even going to remember Angie.” Sam shook his head.

Dean placed a comforting hand on Sam’s shoulder. He wanted to promise his baby brother that they would get Angela back… but of course, with Billie in charge, there was no guarantee.

~/~\~

Dean, Sam, Castiel, Gabriel, and Maggie approached an open area with a number of boards coated in angel warding.

“We must be getting close to Dayton,” Maggie observed. “On the outskirts at least.”

Castiel groaned in pain and his steps became staggered. “I-I-I can’t. This… warding is too strong.”

Gabriel walked over to one of the boards and placed his hand on the sigil, causing it to glow red. All of the sigils started to glow as they burned away. As they burnt out, Castiel gasped, able to move freely again. Gabriel returned to his side and suddenly someone rushed from behind a tree and pointed their rifle at the group.

“Whoa,” Castiel held up a hand and Dean cocked his gun. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. We’re—we’re not here to fight.”

Another armed person came over the small hill and the brothers turned to address the threat.

“We’re just looking for…” Castiel trailed off as Mary and Robert came into view. “Mary. Robert.”

“Castiel?” Mary stopped and looked around for her sons.

“Good to see you, son.” Robert briefly hugged Castiel.

Mary jogged over to the brothers and embraced them. Robert followed after her and looked around, his eyes searching for Angela.

“How did you even find us?” Mary asked while Robert frowned when he couldn’t find Angela.

“Where’s Angie?” Robert asked, his stomach knotting in fear. “Is… Did she stay at the bunker? With the kids?”

After fighting not to cry, Sam finally let a few tears fall down his face. “I-I’m… Robert, I’m sorry.”

Robert shook his head in denial. “No. Oh, God, no.”

“She…” Sam took a deep breath. “She was killed while we were heading through the tunnel. A nest of vamps ambushed us. Robert, I’m so sorry.”

Robert was frozen, still registering was Sam was telling him. Angela… his baby girl, she couldn’t be dead. But it sunk in when he saw the look on Sam’s face… it was the same look Robert had on his face when Lillian Ann was killed.

“Oh, son…” Robert hugged Sam tightly, causing the youngest Winchester to let out a sob.

~/~\~

Angela suddenly took a huge gasping breath and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and panted as she felt her neck, feeling for a fatal wound that wasn’t there. She looked around the small room in disbelief. She was dead… she _had_ been dead. Angela climbed to her feet and turned around, gasping when she saw Lucifer holding a flashlight.

“Boo!” he shouted with a broad smile. “Hey, Angie.”

“No.” Angela shook her head in horror.

“Yeah, I mean, you could do the whole pinch yourself, rub your eyes thing,” Lucifer started as he lazily played with a spider web. “Or you could put on your big girl pants and just, you know, cut right to the realization that yep, it’s me.”

“Y-you—you… You brought me back.” Angela stammered in disbelief.

Lucifer stood up casually and nodded. “I did. You’re welcome.”

“Why?” Angela demanded.

“Oh, well, I’m getting to that.”

“The rift.” Angela realized. “The rift… Rowena… my kids.”

“Oh, she’s okay. And I wouldn’t even bother with those suckers.” Lucifer scoffed. “I mean, I—I was going to kill Rowena, but she blasted me here before I had the chance to, so… It’s great, self-defense. But, uh, I was coming here anyway.”

Angela’s brows furrowed. “But we drained you.”

“So how did I have the juice to pull off my little Lazarus trick?” Lucifer asked. “Uh, that’s a long story, but I was basically tracking you here, and then I came across a handful of Michael’s angels and I… ate ‘em.” He shrugged. “I guess it’s not really a long story, is it?”

Angela steeled herself and clenched her jaw. “What do you want?”

“What do I want? I want what everyone wants. I want a personal apology from Pop. I want rerun-free, year-round episodes of _Drag Race.”_

Angela rolled her eyes in annoyance at Lucifer’s flippant response. “Yeah, got it. Okay, right. We’re done here.”

Angela grabbed her bag and moved to leave.

“Are you going?” Lucifer offered her the flashlight he had been playing with. “Here. It’s dark out there.”

Angela eyed Lucifer suspiciously and pulled out her own flashlight. She turned to leave and jumped back when she saw a nest of vampires being held back by an invisible wall.

“Yeah, they’re sorta… sorta all over there, and I’m holding them back,” Lucifer revealed. “They’re just waiting for a little snap of my fingers, but I didn’t want ‘em flooding in here and eatin’ ya again, not until we finished our convo.”

Angela stared into the sea of vampires before she turned to Lucifer, furious with his games. “What do you want?!”

“I want what you already have—a relationship with my son,” Lucifer answered. “Okay, there was a time that I would, you know, just grab him, but… I’ve grown.”

“I’m sure you have.” Angela sassed, her voice thick with sarcasm.

“I have, Angela. I want my son, and you’re gonna help me if you want to see Sammy again.”

“How?” Angela frowned deeply.

“Well, I don’t feel like he’ll give me a chance unless I come bearing gifts,” Lucifer admitted. “Yup. Boop!” he tapped Angela’s nose. “That’s you.”

Angela cringed, disgusted at the thought of helping Lucifer get to Jack.

“Look, Angie, I’m—I’m not asking you to—to like it or to like me.” Lucifer shrugged. “All I’m asking is that you acknowledge the truth, that I was the one who brought you back to life, that I was the one who lifted you from the darkness and into the light. Okay?”

Angela closed her eyes as what Lucifer said began to sink in. He was right… he _did_ bring her back to life.

“Apocalypse world, Michael’s armies—you really think you and your family can handle that stuff alone? You need me.”

“And what if I say no?” Angela asked quietly.

“All right.” Lucifer sighed in frustration. “Let me just make this really, really, really easy—easy enough for even you to understand, Angie. I’m getting’ to Jack, one way or the other. The only question is, are you coming with?” he asked as he pointed the flashlight at the vampires. “Or that? Your move.”

Angela swallowed heavily as she weighed her options. She would basically be handing her family to Lucifer on a platter… but if she said no, she was dead again. She would never get to see Sam, or her kids, or Dean… or her dad.

~/~\~

Jack was pacing back and forth after Castiel had told him that Angela was dead. Jack wasn’t able to have a relationship with his biological mother, but the relationship that he had had with Angela… He viewed her as a motherly figure, she had taken him in and fought for him. She _couldn’t_ be dead.

“No, she can’t be dead,” Jack whispered. “She _can’t_ be dead.”

Castiel put a hand on Jack’s shoulder, which the boy quickly shoved away. “Jack, I—

“Couldn’t you bring her back?!” Jack lashed out. “Why didn’t you bring her back?!”

“I’m not strong enough,” Gabriel answered.

Castiel looked heartbroken as he looked at Jack. He knew how the boy felt about Angela, she had always been there for him. “Jack… if we could’ve, we would’ve. I’m so sorry.”

Meanwhile, Dean, Sam, Mary, and Robert were huddled together. Sam and Dean were packing to travel so they could retrieve Angela’s body.

“We have to go back,” Dean stated firmly. “Get her body.”

The boys became to walk determinedly but stopped when a bell started to clang. Dean, Sam, Mary, Robert, Jack, Castiel, and Gabriel all looked around in concern. Sam’s eyes widened as he saw Angela walk into the camp. She looked broken and guilty, and she was covered in dried blood.

“Angie.” Jack’s eyes lit up.

Robert’s eyes glistened with tears once he saw his daughter and Mary covered her mouth in disbelief. The relief was short-lived once Lucifer swaggered into view, and Angela closed her eyes and a tear slipped down her cheek. She felt disgusted and ashamed of herself… how could she do this?

Lucifer spotted Jack and smiled. “Hello, son.”


	43. Exodus Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Angie have been reunited!!!!

_Apocalypse World_

Angela quickly made her way to her father and hugged him tightly, almost not believing that he was really there. “I missed you, Dad.”

Robert’s eyes began to fill with relieved tears, and he hugged his daughter tightly. “Oh, Pumpkin. I-I thought…”

“I’m okay,” she whispered as she pulled away from him. "I'm okay, Dad."

Sam immediately took his chance and enveloped Angela in his arms. He was afraid that if he let her go that she would disappear. Angela held Sam’s face in her hands and kissed him deeply, allowing herself to relish in his presence. Sam deepened the already passionate kiss and gripped her hips. Dean cleared his throat, causing the couple to break apart.

“Glad to have you back, kid,” Dean told her.

“Baby,” Sam started. “What happened?”

Angela looked down at the ground, shame filling her body. “He, uh, he brought me back.”

She looked back at Lucifer and could practically feel the bile rising in her throat. Lucifer stood there smugly and shrugged with false modesty at Jack.

“It’s what I do.”

“It is _not_ what you do…” Castiel snapped angrily. “How did you get in here?”

“VIP pass. I’m with the band.” Lucifer answered. “Come on. Shouldn’t you be thanking me? I-I gave Angie an extra life. Besides, what with my… little bro here,” he pointed to Gabriel. “Being a hot mess, I figured you need me. So, I’m here to join the team.” He smiled as his eyes slid over to his son. “Your name is Jack.”

“And yours is Lucifer,” Jack replied.

“No,” Dean stalked over in fury. “No, no. No. You don’t talk to him.” He told Lucifer. “And you, don’t listen to him.”

“Um, don’t you think that’s his choice?” Lucifer challenged.

“No.” Castiel glared.

Lucifer scoffed. “Are you trying to keep me from my son?”

“Well, this is Kelly Kline’s son,” Castiel corrected. “He’s nothing like you.”

“Don’t say he’s nothing like me. I’m the only one who understands him. This power he has? I’m powerful, dangerous, ruthless.” Lucifer retorted before looking at Jack. “In the… best sense, though.”

“No.” Dean shook his head. “Kill him.” He commanded Gabriel.

Gabriel shifted uncomfortably and didn’t act on the command. Lucifer chuckled.

“He’s not strong enough.”

“Dean…” Gabriel shook his head.

“You’ve got the blade!” Dean shouted.

“Stop it.” Jack pleaded quietly.

“He’s the devil! Kill him!”

“Stop it!” Jack shouted before he disappeared.

“Well, great.” Dean scoffed at Lucifer. “Does that when he’s scared. Way to go, Dad!”

“I’ll go look for him.” Gabriel offered and went to find Jack.

“I don’t understand all the hostility,” Lucifer started. “You… need… me. I am a walking weapon. I know this Michael. Heck, I beat him. So how ‘bout a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T?”

Castiel glared and went to the bag that Dean had over his shoulder. He roughly unzipped it and pulled out a pair of warded handcuffs. “In case your innate evil overwhelms this new-found team spirit, you won’t mind wearing these then, will you? You’re not at full power. They should hold you.”

Dean stared at Lucifer coldly and Lucifer snapped out his arms with an air of smugness.

“Slap ‘em on,” Lucifer told Castiel.

“So, if you’re here, is the rift closed?” Sam asked as Castiel cuffed Lucifer.

“No, it’s open. I left Rowena some grace. So you have… I’m thinkin’… 31 hours, give or take?”

~/~\~

Angela set a countdown timer on her phone for 31 hours. She pocketed her phone and watched as Sam and Dean came to meet her on the small covered porch.

“Hey,” Angela looked up at the brothers, guilt evident on her face. “Listen, I-I’m sorry about all of this.”

“Baby you have nothing to apologize for,” Sam assured. “I’m just… words can’t express how happy I am to have you back.”

“Are you good, kiddo?” Dean asked.

Angela nodded and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m alive. Yeah.”

“Well, like Sammy said, you got nothing to apologize for,” Dean assured as he pulled Angela in for a hug. “We thought we lost you, sweetheart.”

Angela closed her eyes and a tear slipped down her cheek and onto Dean’s jacket. “I thought I would never see you guys again.”

Dean pulled away and Sam pulled Angela to his side. He knew he was being slightly overprotective, but who could blame him? He just wanted to make sure that he didn’t lose her again.

“What are we gonna do about Lucifer?” Dean sighed heavily.

“This is my mess, I brought him here,” Angela replied. “I’ll handle him.”

“Not alone.” Sam shook his head. “I’ll be right there with you. I promise.”

Angela smiled a small, thankful smile and burrowed into Sam’s side. She breathed him in and closed her eyes, not wanting to lose the feeling of being safe with him.

“Okay.” Dean nodded, looking at the couple worriedly.

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela walked over just in time to see Mary punch Lucifer in the face.

“Nice shot,” Angela complemented.

“Yeah. No kidding.” Sam agreed. “Hey, um, we really should go look for Jack and get back home before it’s too late.”

Robert and Mary looked at each other and suddenly looked uncomfortable.

“I, uh… guys, um… about that,” Robert sighed, earning confused looks from the younger hunters. “We’re not going back.”

“I’m sorry. What?” Dean demanded, anger bubbling up inside of him.

“We fought beside these people.” Mary reasoned. “We respect them. We respect their cause. You can’t expect us to just abandon them.”

“No, Mom,” Sam shook his head. “That’s not—You heard what Lucifer said. We have 31 hours—

“Mary and I know what you went through to come find us,” Robert started. “But these people are being slaughtered. They need us here.”

“No, _we_ need you guys, Dad,” Angela replied, clearly hurt. “We do. Don’t walk away from us again, please.”

“Pumpkin—

“We have been mopping up the world for years,” Dean interrupted. “Years! We have been knocked down. We have been possessed. We’ve lost friends. We’ve lost family. We’ve lost each other! And we never walk away, ever. And sometimes, we should’ve, because not every fight can be won. It just can’t. Right?” he asked Sam. “Tell them.”

“I think Mom and Robert made up their minds,” Sam muttered.

“See?” Dean asked as Sam’s words registered. “Wait. What?”

“Mom and Robert don’t want to leave these people. So, let’s take ‘em with us.” Sam offered.

“They’ll never leave their home.” Mary shook her head. “They’ll never leave their cause.”

“I’m not saying abandon the fight. I’m saying we get them somewhere safe, then we all figure out a way to take down Michael.” Sam replied. “Then once we do, they can come back and save their world.”

Mary smiled, impressed with her youngest son. “You’d do that for them?”

“Well, we got… what, nine busting out?” Dean shrugged. “What’s a few more. How many are we talking?”

Robert quickly did the math in his head. “Twenty-five.”

“Okay, well, getting an extra 25 through that rift, that might not be possible,” Dean admitted, trying to be pragmatic.

Castiel walked up from behind Mary and Robert, joining the Winchesters.

“Cas, hey,” Angela greeted. “Any update on Jack?”

“He’s back.”

“Great. Where is he?” Sam asked.

“He’s with Lucifer,” Castiel answered dejectedly.

~/~\~

“Hey! Hey!” Dean shouted as he, Sam, Angela, and Castiel walked up. “I told you no talking! And I told you no listening.”

“Dean, he’s in chains.” Jack stood up.

“His mouth isn’t.” Dean glared at Lucifer. “Shoulda gagged him.”

“No, I need to know about my powers, my family.”

“Jack, we are your family,” Castiel replied desperately. “We’ve been protecting you. We’ve been honoring your mother’s wishes. We’re your family.”

“Jack, you have no idea who Lucifer really is,” Sam added.

Jack was clearly getting annoyed and clenched his jaw. “And I never will unless I talk to him.”

“Jack—

“Dean!” Jack snapped defiantly. “He’s my father.”

~/~\~

Mary, Robert, Dean, Sam, and Angela were walking at the front of the large group of survivors. Lucifer and Jack were slightly behind them, chatting.

“We should reach base camp in a couple of hours,” Robert noted.

“Sam, go back there and check out what Helter Skelter’s sayin’ to the damn kid,” Dean ordered.

“Yep.” Sam nodded.

“I’ll come with, baby.” Angela offered.

Sam and Angela dropped back to walk with Lucifer and Jack, leaving Mary, Robert, and Dean together at the front. Annoyance was practically radiating off of Dean.

“Take it easy on Jack,” Mary whispered. “He’s been fighting a war. He’s trying so hard to prove himself, but… he’s lost people, friends. It’ll take him a minute to get through it.”

Meanwhile, Jack looked at Sam and Angela, an air of excitement radiating from him.

“I was just telling my dad that, now that he’s here, we have enough power to kill Michael,” Jack explained hopefully.

Sam pursed his lips. “Jack, that’s not really the plan.”

Jack’s face fell visibly and he frowned. “But… this is our chance.”

Sam didn’t reply and he just looked at the ground as he walked. Angela took his hand in hers and squeezed lightly.

“Dean, like it or not, Lucifer is Jack’s father.” Robert sighed. “He’s going to take an interest in him.”

“So what, we’re supposed to just let Lucifer drag him over to the dark side?” Dean asked.

“Jack isn’t going to the dark side,” Mary assured. “He’ll see Lucifer’s true nature. And he’ll see through his own eyes and not yours.”

Castiel came around the corner of the road and the group stopped walking.

“Hey. Find him?” Dean asked.

“No. Gabriel went ahead to scout, but he should be back by now.”

Gabriel came sprinting back towards the group with some of Michael’s angels hot on his heels. “Angels!”

“Hey, right there!” one of the angels yelled.

Everyone drew their guns while Gabriel and Castiel drew their angel blades.

“Kill them, on my command,” another one of the angels ordered.

The angels’ eyes glowed bright blue briefly before they suddenly exploded into clouds of grey dust. Castiel, Gabriel, Angela, and Sam turned to look at Lucifer, who was smirking smugly. The cuffs around his wrists melted off.

“Oh yeah, about the cuffs—I knew they wouldn’t hold me in this world,” he admitted. “Long story short, I didn’t want your impotence to get awkward, so I just went along. You’re welcome. Welcome. Right? Don’t… thank me all at once.” Lucifer muttered before nudging Jack. “See. Team player.”

~/~\~

Sam, Dean, and Angela stared at the sign that read ‘Singer Auto Salvage.’

“Creeps me out,” Sam commented. “You know?”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed. “But it’s no Sioux Falls.”

Bobby walked up behind them with several mugs. “Why should it look like Sioux Falls?”

“Uh, just our Bobby, back in our world—

“He liked to freeze his ass off every winter?” Bobby interrupted Angela. “Yeah, well, this Bobby’s gonna pass on that. Anyhow, it’s good nice to meet you, Angela. And it’s good to see you boys again. I knew you couldn’t stay away.”

“Yeah. You know where we can find Charlie? Or Ketch?” Dean asked.

“Oh, they ain’t back yet. They got a tip on an angel kill squad lookin’ to execute some, uh, resistance. They went to head ‘em off at the pass.”

“You let Charlie go with Ketch?” Dean demanded.

“She let Ketch go with her. It’s her operation.” Bobby corrected.

“Bobby, we’re gonna have to hit the road soon,” Sam noted. “We’re running out of time.”

“Now about that,” Bobby pursed his lips. “Mary and Robert said you wanna take a bunch of our people back to this other earth?”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s the idea.”

“Well, no offense, but that may be the dumbest friggin’ idea in a landfill of dumb ideas,” Bobby replied bluntly.

~/~\~

Three group leaders of the survivors sat in front of Sam, Dean, Angela, Mary, and Robert. Sam leaned against the table and Angela stood in between his legs, and he wrapped his arms around her middle. The hunters had just briefed the three leaders on their plan to take everyone to their world.

“So, let me get this straight,” Andy started. “You want us to follow you through a magic door that’s gonna blast us the hell outta here and into some kind of fairy tale world where everything’s pretty?”

“Okay, that’s—that’s not what I—what I was t-t-trying to say, but…” Sam stammered.

Mary put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Andy, look, I get that you don’t know my sons or Angie, but you do know me and Robert. That world does exist. Hear them out.”

“No one here is runnin’ out on their buddies, runnin’ out on the fight,” Andy argued.

“Nobody’s saying run out. Guys, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re losing.” Dean replied. “Okay? You’re outmanned, you’re outgunned.”

“My husband, brother-in-law, and I… back home we’re sitting on the biggest collections of lore and weapons in our world,” Angela revealed.

“Now something in there, it—it might be enough to even the odds,” Sam added.

“So we find that, then you come back here with a plan, a plan to beat Michael and his armies,” Dean noted. “And then you win.”

“Exactly.” Sam nodded. “You may think you don’t know us, but you do. We’ve been where you are. Hell, we are you.”

Andy glanced at Mary and Robert, sharing a look with them. “We’ll talk to our people, take a vote.”

“That’s all we ask,” Dean replied gratefully.

“Thank you.” Sam and Angela added.

After the three leaders left, Bobby walked up to the hunters.

“Just got news about Charlie and Ketch,” he started. “Goin’ after the execution squad went sideways. They’re the ones who got ambushed.”

“Where did they hear about this execution?” Sam’s brows furrowed.


End file.
